The Dark Ones
by Sailor Donut
Summary: The city of Atlantis is safe, and is thriving. But all is not well, for some evil Atlanteans wish to use the Mother Crystal of Atlantis to try and take over the world. Will history repeat itself, leading to the ultimate destruction of the empire? REVISED!
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: All characters, items, situations, etc. pertaining to _Atlantis: The Lost Empire _are property of Disney. No copyright infringement is intended, and no profit is being made save enjoyment!

Notes:The dialogue of this story is intended to be entirely in Atlantean, which accounts for what would otherwise be grammatical anomalies (such as the use of contractions and colloquialisms). The Atlantean words that appear have been romanized as opposed to the phonetic transcriptions that you usually see in regards to Atlantean (i.e. I use Mëbelmōk instead of MEH-bel-moak). I've tried to avoid using Atlantean words unless they are names or unless there's not a good English equivalent, since the entire story is supposed to be in Atlantean anyway.

Enjoy!

* * *

**The Dark Ones  
Prologue **

Milo and Kida were walking through the marketplace in the center of Atlantis, as they did everyday. It was hard to believe that this busy, bustling city had been laying in ruins only a few years ago...

"I still can't believe that this is all real!" Milo said. "Everyone on the surface believes that Atlantis was destroyed thousands of years ago, but here it is, a living, thriving civilization!"

Kida poked Milo in the ribs. "Well, it's a good thing that you came and restored the knowledge of the ancient ones to us, or we would not be thriving, would we?" She warmly smiled at him.

Milo blushed, then slyly glanced around. "Wait here," he whispered.

"Why? Where are you going?" Kida inquired.

"Just wait here! I'll be right back!" With that, he ducked into a nearby shop.

"Is it ready?" Milo asked the woman behind the counter.

"Yes. It's exactly what you requested," the clerk said, pulling a tiny box off a shelf. "Custom made for the Queen." She handed Milo the box.

Milo lifted the lid off the box. Inside was a small silver ring, with a blue crystal in the middle and a smaller white crystal on either side. "Oh, it's perfect! It's absolutely perfect! She'll love it!"

"Yes, it's simple, but extremely lovely, is it not?" the clerk beamed. Milo nodded. "If I may ask," the woman continued, "Why did you want the ring?"

Milo blushed again. "Oh, it's just an old surface world custom," he said.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kida was still outside, examining some pottery at a nearby booth. Suddenly, she felt someone touch her arm. Startled, Kida whirled around. It was Throck, her former suitor. The last person she wanted to see.

"Hi-ya, Kida," he said smugly.

"You shall address me as 'Your Highness'," Kida snarled.

"Oooh, forgive me, Your Highness," Throck said sarcastically.

"What do you want?" Kida demanded. She was not in the mood to deal with Throck's insolence.

"Just to talk," he said. "I haven't seen you recently. You haven't been avoiding me, have you?" He tried to put his arm around her, but she skirted around him.

"Whatever makes you say that?" Kida asked sourly.

"You know, I heard a rumor that you and that outsider Milo Thatch have been going around together," Throck said, attempting to put his arm around her again.

"You heard correctly," the Queen said matter-of-factly, once again dodging his grasp and wondering how he could be feigning such ignorance.

"I could make you forget him," Throck murmured.

"Ha!" Kida sneered. "No one could ever make me forget Milo Thatch, and especially not you!"

"Wanna bet?" Without warning, Throck grabbed Queen Kida by the wrists, taking her off guard.

"Let me go!" Kida cried, struggling to get away.

"Aww, come on, Kida. Surely you haven't forgotten your feelings for me?"

"Feelings?!" Kida exclaimed. "What feelings? Don't you delude yourself, you self-centered pig! There's nothing between you and me, there never has been, and there never will be! Now let me go!"

Throck's face hardened in rage. His grip on Kida's wrists tightened. Kida felt panic clutch her chest, but she stifled it. "You've been hanging around that outsider too long. Take it from me, Kida, he's not for you. You need someone big, and strong, and handsome. Someone like me," Throck leered.

"Do you realize that I am the Queen?" Kida hissed.

"Oh, yes I do." With that, he roughly pulled her close and kissed her hard. Kida's eyes widened in fury. Wrenching one of her hands free, she struck Throck on the side of his face.

"Stop it! Let me go!" she screamed as Throck pulled back in surprise. "Milo, where are you? Milo!!"

Milo came racing out of the shop the instant he heard Kida scream. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the scene before him. "Let her go!" Milo shouted, furious. "NOW."

"What claim do you have to her, Thatch?" Throck sneered, but he released Kida nonetheless. She scurried over to where Milo was standing, rubbing her sore wrists.

"If you ever touch her again, I'll kill you!" Milo snarled. Throck rolled his eyes. An empty threat; a lightweight like Thatch couldn't possibly do any damage to him. "Are you all right Kida?" Milo asked softly. "Did he hurt you?" She bit her lip and burst into tears. Milo gently pulled her into his arms, and then turned to face Throck. "What did you do to her?" he demanded.  
"Why does it matter to you if I touched her, kissed her a few times?" Throck smirked.

Milo's face hardened. "Because I love her, and I'm going to marry her!"

"Marry?!" Throck's jaw dropped.

"Yes!" Kida said. "We are to be wed tomorrow!"

"That cannot be true!" Throck gasped.

"Oh, but it is," Milo snapped. He turned to Kida. "I was hoping this would fall on a happier occasion, but..." He pulled the ring from his sash and lovingly slipped it on Kida's left ring finger.

"Oh, Milo!" Kida breathed. "It's beautiful."

Milo smiled. "You like it? I had it custom made. It's kind of simple, but–"

"Oh, no! It's perfect! It's the most beautiful thing I've seen in my whole life!"

"You'll be sorry for this, Thatch! And you too, Kida! You'll regret this day for the rest of your miserable lives!" Throck snarled.

"You'd better leave right now, Throck, or I'll call the royal guards on you!" Kida erupted, the last shred of her patience gone. She tried to dismiss his threats as arrogance, but she couldn't shake the growing fear in the pit of her stomach that she was underestimating him. This disconcerted her.

Throck finally turned to leave, but out of the corner of her eye, Kida saw Throck giving them a look that chilled her to the bone. "It's okay, Kida," Milo whispered, holding her tightly. Kida smiled, but deep down she could sense that Throck was going to be more of a problem than she had bargained for.

* * *

Kida sat bolt upright, then relaxed when she saw that she was safe in her own bed. She thoughtfully twisted the ring on her finger, and gazed over at Milo, who lay sleeping next to her, lightly snoring. Over a year had passed since that day in the square. She and Milo had gotten married the next day as planned, and Throck had not bothered them, save in Kida's dreams. But Kida, being the Queen, was linked to the Heart of Atlantis, and therefore was extremely intuitive. And she had a nagging feeling that something bad was about to happen...

She shook the thought from her head. "Don't be ridiculous, Kida," she told herself. She settled back into bed, and, snuggling close to her husband, the Queen of Atlantis soon fell back to sleep.


	2. Chapter One

**The Dark Ones  
Chapter 1 **

"Wake up, sleepy-head!" Milo's voice cut through Kida's misty blue slumber the next morning.

"Hmm?" Kida's eyes snapped open. Daylight streamed in through the window. Milo was sitting next to her, already dressed. She smiled at him. "Hello, Handsome."

"You're lying," Milo said, tweaking her nose.

"No, I'm not." Kida sat up yawning and stretching. She glanced at the water-clock on the wall. "Yädlug! Why did you let me sleep so late?"

"You needed the extra shuteye. You simply have not been getting enough sleep the past few nights," Milo chided.

"I know. I just have this nagging feeling..."

"You and your nagging feelings," Milo said, affectionately pulling her hair.

"Really, Milo!" she sighed. "I just can't help but feel that something terribly bad is about to happen." Milo half-heartedly smiled at her, and leaned over to kiss her...

BANG! BANG! Just then, someone started pounding on the door. "Your Majesty, are you awake?" a voice called.

"Enter!" Kida called back. A servant woman rushed in with a panicked look on her face. It was Nakia. She had lived and worked in the palace most of her life, and she and Kida were close friends.

"Nakia, what's wrong?" Milo asked her.

"It's another riot!" Nakia gasped.

"Another one?" Kida asked. Over the past several months there had been more and more rebellious outbursts.

"This one's the worst yet," Nakia said. "The leader of the rebels insists that you meet with him now to discuss his demands. Kida, I'm worried!"

"Very well," Kida said regally. She called to a nearby servant. "Gather together all the royal guards. Have them report to my throne room." The servant hurried to obey, and Kida turned back to Nakia. "Who is the leader of the rebels?"

"It's Throck," Nakia replied.

Kida's face went pale. "Nakia, go find Meera and the two of you meet me in my throne room." Meeranakash was Kida's lifelong friend and royal advisor. Nakia nodded and rushed off.

Milo picked up his spear and started to follow her out. He turned back to face Kida. She was sitting on the edge of the bed staring blankly in front of herself. "Coming, dear?" Milo inquired.

Kida's head was spinning. It was all so confusing. First the rebellious outbreaks. Then her nightmares about Throck. Now this. They had to be connected, and they had to mean something bad. Milo's voice pulled her out of her reverie. "Hmm?" she mumbled.

"Kida, are you okay?" Milo asked softly.

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I am fine. You go to the throne room. I'll meet everyone there once I get dressed," Kida said.

Milo nodded and squeezed her hand. "It's going to be okay, Kida," he said, then walked out of the room.

"I certainly hope so," Kida whispered.

* * *

It was dark in Throck's small cottage when Orion entered. It was always dark in this place, it seemed. Throck consistently covered his windows with reed shades, blocking the sun-like light that was cast by the Mother Crystal. It was disconcerting.

"Report, Orion?" the tall Atlantean man intoned from an especially dark corner of the room, his eyes fixed on his right-hand man.

"Oh–erm–yes," Orion stuttered, embarrassed that he had not noticed Throck's presence sooner. "The Queen is coming."

"And Milo Thatch as well?" Throck asked.

"Yes, sir."

"Perfect. Everything's going exactly the way I planned it," Throck snickered.


	3. Chapter Two

**The Dark Ones  
Chapter 2**

"It's worrying me, Meera, it really is!" Kida exclaimed. "I know the only thing I can do is meet with him and listen to his demands, but..." she sighed. "The last time I saw him was when we announced our engagement. I wish you could have seen the way he looked at Milo. It frightened me!"

"And you don't frighten easily," Meera said, frowning.

"You're not helping, Meera!" Nakia scolded, joining her friends' conversation.

"I'm sorry, but I'm with Kida on this one," Meera defended herself. "Something simply is not right!" She turned to Kida. "You're right; as little as I want you to, I know that you do have to meet with Throck." She set her jaw. "But be _careful_, Kida! You're my best friend, and you're an incredible queen. No one wants anything to happen to you. Never turn your back on him, and be careful!"

Kida nodded, hugged her two friends, and then she and Milo led the guards out of the throne room. "Milo..." she whispered.

"What?"

"Please, Milo, please be careful," she said.

"Oh, Kida. I'm a big boy. I can take care of myself," he said.

"Throck doesn't play by the rules. If you turn your back on him you'll find a knife in it." She looked away. "Something is terribly wrong. I can feel it. And until I figure out what it is, I want you to watch your step. Is that too much to ask?"

"No, it isn't. And I will be careful. I promise," Milo said.

* * *

The riot was going full-force by the time the royal guards, led by Queen Kidagakash, arrived. Kida stepped forward to face Throck. "Throck, I am here!" she called.

"Well I'll be. If it isn't the Queen," Throck snickered. "And you brought the outsider, too! What would your father say?"

"He would say that I made a wise decision to marry Milo instead of someone as crass and arrogant as you!" Kida retorted.

"You're in no position to be making comments like that, Queenie."  
"And you're in no position to be speaking to the Queen like that!" Milo shouted. Kida silenced him.

"What do you want from me, Throck?" she demanded.

"I want what is best for Atlantis," Throck replied.

"And what may that be?" Kida inquired cautiously. There was a trap here somewhere, she could sense it.

"Atlantis could become powerful again. It could become the most powerful nation in this world if you weren't holding us back!" Throck said. "With a power source like that we could have the nations of the world in the palm of our hand!" He pointed at the huge Mother Crystal hovering hundreds of feet overhead.

"Throck, how big a fool are you?!" Kida exclaimed. "Do you not realize that misusing the Heart of Atlantis is what banished us down here in the first place? Would you have us all be destroyed forever?"

"Just as I told you. Our requests have fallen on deaf ears," Throck said. "But what can you expect with a stubborn fool like her on the throne?" He turned to the crowd. "People of Atlantis, do you not wish to be powerful members of the surface world again?" The crowd roared. Kida shook her head in disbelief. "Do you not see that Queen Kidagakash is preventing it?" Throck continued. The crowd shouted some more.

Throck turned to Kida. "You see? You are doing Atlantis a disservice by remaining Queen. It is in Atlantis' best wishes that you abdicate and pass the crown to someone truly worthy... like me."

"Throck, how can you let jealousy make you so corrupted?" Kida implored.

"Will you abdicate?" he prodded.

"I would never place the welfare of Atlantis into the hands of someone like you!"

"Then we will take the crown by force!" Two of Throck's men headed towards Kida, spears drawn. Milo and the royal guards leaped into action. A violent brawl ensued. No one noticed a bright blue beam fall from the sky and land on Kida.

"Step aside!" the Queen shouted in a voice not her own. Everyone present stopped what they were doing and stared at Kida. Her eyes were glazed over and supernaturally glowing. The crystal pendant around her neck was glowing more brightly than usual. The Queen stiffly stepped through the crowd and faced Throck.

"Surrender, Throck," the strange voice said through Kida's lips. Throck was astounded. The voice emanating from her was so strange. He could not know that it was the Heart of Atlantis speaking through her.

"Not on your life, Kida." Throck foolishly said.

"Very well," the voice said through Kida. She closed her eyes. The crystal pendant at her throat grew brighter and brighter, until it was blinding to look at. She extended her hands. Bright blue beams shot from them and surrounded Throck. When the light around him disappeared, he was bound with indestructible crystal shackles.

"Take them to the dungeon," Milo ordered. The royal guards led Throck and his followers away. Milo turned to Kida. The beam from the sky released her. Her eyes returned to normal, and the crystal around her neck dimmed. She weakly fell to her knees. Milo rushed to where she was kneeling.

"Are you okay?" Milo asked worriedly.

"Of course I am. I'm just a little weak, that's all." He reached out to help her up, but she waved him away. "I'm all right. I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself," she teased. She stood up and brushed herself off. "And I have some prisoners on my hands that I'm not exactly sure how to deal with."

* * *

Orion gazed down at his own hands, which were chained together. The previous hour's events were almost inconceivable to him. He and Throck were lifelong friends, so Orion had of course known that Throck had held ill-will against Queen Kidagakash ever since she had jilted him so long ago; but he hadn't realized the extent of Throck's malice. He had thought Throck's protests were genuinely based on a desire for the welfare of Atlantis, that he and his supporters would appeal to the Queen and reach a compromise. He had never made the connection, never thought that Throck was only stirring insurrection as a way of punishing Kida for their personal relationship going sour. It had never occurred to Orion that Throck would be willing to resort to treason as a means to an end.

_I suppose I really should have seen it coming, knowing Throck_, Orion thought, smiling ruefully. He leaned his head back against the cool dungeon wall. _Well, I wanted attention... _He frowned. It hadn't always been like this...or had it? Had Throck always been this power mad, and Orion had only noticed it now?

"The Queen will pay for this," Throck growled.

Orion looked at him. "Throck," he began tentatively, "Why don't you just let Kida go? True, she's beautiful, but she's not the only girl in Atlantis..." He trailed off. _Look who's talking,_ his mind snickered, but he stifled the thought.

Throck ignored him. "It was perfect," he snarled. "I had her and Thatch in the palm of my hand. How could this have happened?"

"Queen Kidagakash _does_ have the Heart of Atlantis on her side," Orion mused. Throck shot him a look. "Well, you have to admit, abusing the Crystal _is_ what got us all trapped down here in the first place!" Orion defended.

"This isn't over yet, Orion. You'll see. By the time this is done, Thatch and Kida will be little more than dust. I'll be King of Atlantis..." Throck looked Orion straight in the eye. "...And _you'll_ have everything you ever wanted." He snickered. "You can't exactly go back. And I can't see why you'd want to."

Orion swallowed and looked down, the venom in Throck's voice stinging his ears. But he was right. Orion would stay with Throck, no matter what, for as long as it took. He had made that decision long ago. _No matter what._ He had no other choice.

Throck looked away from Orion and chuckled. "Oh yes, Orion. Our day will soon come. I can promise you that."

* * *

Several days later, Kida had come to a decision. In order to keep Atlantis and its citizens safe, she would exile Throck, his followers, and their families from Atlantis. It was the only way to protect her city and her people.

The morning of the banishment, Kida ceremoniously removed the crystal pendants from the rebels. Now it was official. Throck and his followers were now outsiders to the city.

"You have been given sufficient supplies," the Queen said. "You may use them and work together to build yourselves a new home and live peacefully amongst yourselves...or you may refuse to cooperate and thus destroy yourselves. It is your choice." Her face tightened grimly. "But you may never return to Atlantis. If you do, you will be eliminated immediately. Is that quite clear?" The prisoners grimly nodded, and turned to go. Kida walked over to Milo. Sadly, she watched the exiled leave.

"You did the right thing," Milo said softly. Kida nodded. She knew Milo was right, but it didn't make sending away so many of her citizens, her family, any easier.

Throck was the last to go. He turned coldly to Milo and Kida. "You haven't seen the last of me," he warned. Then he departed.

Kida took Milo's hand and headed back to the city. But Throck's final words to her echoed through her head. _"You haven't seen the last of me..."_ She had an unpleasant feeling that he was right.


	4. Chapter Three

**The Dark Ones  
Chapter 3  
**_**Three Years Later**_

"Are the preparations complete?" Throck asked Orion.

"Yes, they are," Orion replied.

"Very well, then. Tell Nashir that we will strike tonight," Throck said grimly.

"Um, sir, are you sure that this is such a wonderful idea?" Orion stammered. "I mean, after all, Queen Kida made it perfectly clear that anyone who returned to Atlantis would be killed on sight." He started to tremble as Throck stared at him icily, but he continued nonetheless. "Why do you want Atlantis so badly, anyway? I mean, here you have your own city, and not a bad one at that. Wouldn't it just be wiser to stick to your own domain?"

"I have spent three long, hard years working on the ultimate revenge. I am not about to give up all my plans. I will have Atlantis, and I will have Thatch and Kida's heads on platters," Throck snarled.

"But why are you carrying such a grudge against them? I mean, sure, Kida's a nice girl and all–"

"It's not about whether or not Kida's a nice girl!!!" Throck roared. "Don't you see? She was the princess of Atlantis, the heir to the throne! I had her right where I wanted her! I was going to be king! But then that Thatch came along and snatched the crown right off my head!"

"Oh, come on, Throck!" Orion pleaded. "The two of them were meant for each other! They're in love! Just stay here, rule over Trokia, find a nice Trokian girl to be your queen. Forget about Atlantis!"

Throck sneered at Orion's words. "That's doubly idiotic coming out of _your_ mouth, Orion. But I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Your pathetic romanticism has always been your downfall." Orion felt his face grow hot, and he looked at the floor. "Besides," Throck continued, "This isn't about love. This is about power. Who deserves it, and who doesn't. Milo Thatch does not deserve it." He clenched his fist. "Now, leave my sight!" he shouted. "The raid goes on tonight as planned!"

* * *

Kida was having a restless night. Voices were calling to her from beyond her subconscious... Someone, something was trying to warn her of something, trying to tell her something she didn't know...

"No!!!" she screamed in her sleep. Milo woke up abruptly, startled. "No! No!" Kida screamed again.

Milo started shaking her. "Kida. Kida! Wake up! Wake up, Kida!"

Kida's eyes snapped open. "Milo!" she gasped. "Can't you hear it?"

"Hear what?" Milo asked.

"There's something horribly wrong! Can't you hear it?" she said hysterically.

"Kida, you're dreaming! Wake up!" Milo said.

"No, I am not dreaming! Why can't you hear it?" By now she was on the verge of tears. "People screaming in pain! Men, women, little children! Something's happening in the city! Can't you feel it? Can't you hear the screams?"

"Kida!" Milo exclaimed, gently shaking her. "It was just a nightmare! There's nothing wrong in the city. Everything's the way it's supposed to be. It was all a dream."

Kida shook her head. "It was so real," she whispered.

Milo held her tightly. "It's all right," he said. "It was just a bad dream." He held her a little while longer. "Feel any better?" he asked after a few minutes. She nodded. "I know what would relax you," he said. "Whenever I couldn't sleep, my Grandpa would fix me some warm milk. Think that would make you feel better?" She nodded again. He started to get up.

"No, Milo," Kida said. "I will get it. You go back to sleep."

"Naw, I think I'll just stay here and read," Milo said.

"Very well. Would you like me to get you something?" she asked him.

"Um, juice would be nice, if it's not too much trouble," he replied.

"No trouble," Kida said.

"Sure you don't want me to go with you?" Milo asked.

"I will be all right, Milo. You stay here and read your book. I will return in a few minutes." Kida would come to regret those words for a very long time.

* * *

A few minutes later, Kida was leaving the kitchen with a cup of warm shemubin milk for herself and a glass of juice for Milo. She started up the stairs when she suddenly felt a sharp spear point in her back. She gasped, and dropped the drinks she was carrying. "You're to come with us," a gravelly voice from behind her ordered.

"Not likely," Kida growled. With lightning speed she spun around, kicked her attacker hard in the stomach, and yanked the spear from his grasp. He fell to the floor in pain. Suddenly she was surrounded on all sides by black-clad warriors.

They circled her, then attacked. Kida was ready for them. She defended with her spear and felled many warriors.

Meera rushed out of her bedchamber. "What's all the commotion out here?" she asked. Then she gasped at the site before her. "Guards! Guards!" Meera shouted at the top of her voice. Then she leaped into the fray to help her best friend.

Soon, the royal guards arrived, and they took the attackers hostage. "To the dungeon with them!" Kida commanded. "I will deal with them in the morning." The guards dragged the attackers away.

As he passed, the man who'd attacked Kida said, "You think you've won, don't you, Queenie? Well, that's where you're wrong." His name was Nashir, and he had led the siege. "You'll be in for a surprise when you return to your bedchamber."

Meera berated him. "That's enough out of you!"

"I wonder what he meant by that?" Nakia, who had just entered the scene, commented.

Kida's eyes widened and she leapt to her feet and dashed up the staircase into her bedchamber. Meera and Nakia called out to her, and began following her, but she did not stop. Nashir couldn't have meant...

She stopped dead in her tracks in the doorway of her bedchamber. The lamp was knocked over on its side, and the whole room was dark, but still Kida knew what she was going to see.

Meera and Nakia rushed in. Hurriedly, Nakia lit a wall lamp. The room was illuminated with bright light. The three friends stared in horror at what they saw. "Oh, no," Meera whispered.

The room was in shambles. Furniture lay strewn about, pottery was smashed. On the far side of the room, a portrait had been knocked off the wall. Kida stared at it. The painting had once been of herself and Milo, painted a few days after their wedding. Now there was a large "X" over her face, and Milo had been ripped out of the picture.

She slowly approached the bed. There, on Milo's pillow was the ripped fragment of painting. Scrawled on it were the words, "This is only the beginning."

She glanced at her left hand. Her ring sparkled in the dim light. "Oh, Milo," Kida whispered. She clutched the torn picture to her, flung herself onto the bed, and began to weep. Throck had Milo now, and she may never see him again.


	5. Chapter Four

**The Dark Ones  
Chapter 4**

Milo groggily opened his eyes. He looked around him. He was in a dimly lit room. "Well, well, his majesty has awakened," a voice said. A figure stepped out of the shadows.

"Throck!" Milo gasped.

"The one and only," Throck sneered.

"What are you up to, Throck?" Milo asked. "Where's Kida?"

"Relax, Lover Boy. The Queen's safe–for the moment. She's at home in Atlantis right now, which is more than I can say for you," Throck snickered.

"I don't know what you're planning, Throck, but you'll never get away with it. Kida will stop you," Milo warned.

"No, I think not," Throck said. "You see, by the time I'm through, you and Kida will both be dead, and I will reign supreme."

"What do you want from us?" Milo asked confusedly.

"You really don't get it, do you Thatch?" Throck sighed. "I could have had it all. I could have been the king of Atlantis, had all that power in my hands... and you took it all away from me! You and your group of outsiders just had to come along and ruin all my plans! You just had to come along and sweep Kida off her feet and make her fall in love for real. All that could have been mine!" He grinned wickedly. "But no matter, for soon my revenge on you and the Queen will be complete, and I will have Atlantis."

"You never really cared about Kida, did you?" Milo accused.

"Of course not. Certainly she's beautiful, but she's also a bubble-headed idealist." Throck chuckled maliciously. "I guess you two really are perfect for each other."

"You make me sick!" Milo exclaimed.

"Your opinion concerns me," Throck said sarcastically. Milo just shook his head unbelievingly. How could anyone be so cruel and cold-hearted? Throck cackled again. "Take him away," Throck said to the guards. Thatch would die, yes– but slowly and excruciatingly painfully.

* * *

Meera softly left the Queen's bedchamber. "Is she asleep?" Nakia whispered. Meera nodded. Nakia sighed in relief. Kida had been sleepless the whole night. Most of the time she just sat there, staring off into space and twisting the ring on her finger.  
"The poor thing cried herself to sleep," Meera said. "I've never seen her this upset since her mother was taken away." Kida's mother, Queen Maralana, had been chosen by the Crystal as a human sacrifice in order to save Atlantis from the Mëbelmōk, the Great Flood. She was never seen again.

"Oh, poor Kida," Nakia said, shaking her head sadly. This was such a tragedy to the city. Nakia thought back on the years that Milo Thatch had spent in Atlantis. He had taught the Atlanteans how to read their language, something they had been unable to do since the Mëbelmōk. He had taught them to use the ancient Atlantean stone vehicles, and he had saved the city from Rourke and the erupting volcano...Atlantis owed so much of its success to this outsider, and now he was gone.

A messenger approached Meera. "The search party has returned, ma'am," he said.

"Any luck?" Meera asked hopefully.

"No, Your Ladyship. They didn't find a single trace of the attackers, or the Queen's husband."

"I see. Well, thank you for notifying me," she dismissed him.

"How are we going to tell Kida?" Nakia asked.

"I don't know," Meera said. "But one thing's for sure, we're not telling her now. I want her to get as much sleep as she can, because she's going to have a long next few days."

* * *

"Milo," Kida whispered in her sleep. She was giving herself up to the blissful memories of their life together. It couldn't be over so soon...

* * *

Kida drifted down from the Crystal. She was barely conscious, but she could feel the Crystal's beam release her, her crystalline body transforming back into flesh... then she felt someone's warm arms wrap around her. _Could it be Mätim?_ she wondered. _No. Mätim has been dead for six thousand years, Kida, and you know it..._

Her eyes fluttered open, and she saw Milo Thatch, the outsider, gazing at her with concern. No, not Milo Thatch, the outsider–Milo, her friend. And somehow, she felt at that moment, perhaps something more...

"Milo," Kida whispered groggily. The feeling was returning to her limbs. She felt something clenched in the palm of her hand. She opened her hand and saw her Mätim's bracelet. The bracelet Maralana had let Kida play with that fateful day...the bracelet that the Queen had pulled off Kida's wrist as she struggled to clasp Kida's hand...the bracelet she had taken with her when she disappeared from Kida's life forever. The Crystal had given it back to her, a reminder of her Mätim's eternal love for her.

Kida felt Milo's arms tighten around her. She gazed up into her friend's eyes, feeling tears welling up. She threw her arms around him as her emotions overwhelmed her, and he hugged her back.

Kida felt Milo nudge her. What she saw when she turned to follow his gaze astounded her. When she had disappeared into the Crystal's beams, the city had been in ruins. But now, everything was different: the city had been restored back to its old grandeur, the way it was when it was the most powerful empire on earth. And somehow, Kida got the feeling that Milo had had something to do with it.

She walked to the edge of the platform to get a better look. Milo and the other explorers followed her, and they all stared in awe at the beautiful Lost Empire. Milo was standing next to her, and he took her hand into his.

Kida's senses were coming back to her. The last thing she remembered was telling Milo not to worry, and stepping into the Crystal's blue beams...Milo had saved her, returned her to the city, saved the lives of all her people. He had destroyed Commander Rourke, the man who had slain her father, her Täbtoap; the man who had tried to kidnap both Kida and the Heart of Atlantis; the man who had tried to destroy her people forever. She now owed Milo her life.

"Why, Milo? Why did you risk your life like that for my people and myself?" Kida asked him.

"Do you really want to know?" Milo said, moving closer to her.

"Yes, I do."

"Because..." He looked straight into her blue eyes. "Because... I love you, Kida." He kissed her.

Kida felt her knees weaken beneath her. He loved her...this stranger, this man she had only known for a day...he loved her. And oddly enough, she felt that loved him, too.

She felt the eyes of all the explorers on them, Audrey, Sweet, Vinny, Mrs. Packard, Cookie, Mole; but she didn't care. Let them stare. Right now all she wanted to do was be with Milo.

* * *

Kida's eyes opened. It had all been a dream. Milo was still gone. Kida sighed sadly. She got out of bed and slipped on her silken robe. It was all so strange...and so incredibly lonely.

She stepped into the hall. Meera was heading towards her. "Oh, Kida!" Meera gasped. "You're awake already?"

"Yes," Kida said. "Have the scouts returned yet?"

"Oh, well, um, actually...yes, but..." Meera fumbled.  
"They didn't find anything, did they?"

"Um, well.. no," Meera sighed.

"It's all right, Meera," Kida said. "There's nothing more we can do." She wandered back into the bedchamber and looked around. "Well, I might as well just clean this place up. Maybe I'll find a clue."

She began replacing books on shelves and sweeping pieces of broken pottery into a trash bin. Then she turned to make the bed. There, laying on the floor next to the bed was the book Milo had been reading the night before. It lay open in the position he had left it in.

Kida gazed at the pages sadly. This was Milo's favorite book, a book of Atlantean fables. Many nights she would snuggle up close to him and practice her reading with it. He would smile at her weak attempts, and would help her with difficult words. He never grew frustrated at her frequent mistakes, and always complimented her progress.

Kida smiled as she remembered the day, a few years ago, when she had been exploring the palace and had found, hidden behind a tapestry, the entrance to the old Atlantean library, filled with all sorts of books and scrolls. Milo had been so excited when she showed him, and he had promised her that someday they would read all those books together.

"No, we won't, Milo," Kida said glumly. "I'm never going to see you again." Suddenly, a thought struck her. "The prisoners!" Kida exclaimed. Maybe they could help her discover where Throck had taken Milo! And if not, well, Kida would find ways of making them pay for what they had done...


	6. Chapter Five

**The Dark Ones  
Chapter 5**

Milo had never been in so much pain in his entire life. Every muscle in him ached; every inch of him was sore. He was dripping in blood and sweat from head to toe; he had burns and welts and bruises all over his body. He knew that he didn't have much longer to live. How many more days could he endure it before he slipped away?

He had learned much about this place called "Trokia." It was a vast city carved of stone, with elaborate halls and secret passageways. It, like Atlantis, had a mysterious power source, though Milo had absolutely no idea where or what it was. He knew one more thing, though–Trokia was cleverly hidden, and there was a good chance that no Atlantean scout would ever find it.

Another jolt of pain rushed through Milo's body. He couldn't take it anymore, and he collapsed on the floor. In the back of his mind, he heard Kida's voice telling him that there was something wrong in the city...

_You were right, Kida,_ Milo thought. _I should have believed you._ Then Milo lost himself to the blackness.

* * *

"Alêa, you come back here!" Kida called. She and Milo were babysitting for the rambunctious little girl while her parents–Meera's older sister, Lina, and her husband, Oton–were out to dinner celebrating their anniversary.

Milo grinned as Kida raced after the troublesome toddler. _My, my, the queen certainly has a way with children!_ Milo thought.

"Can't catch me!" Alêa squealed.

"Wanna bet?" Kida said, lifting the little girl into her arms. "Let's just relax for a little while," Kida suggested.

"No!" Alêa said.

"Come on, Alêa," Kida said. The girl stuck her lip out in a pout. "Oh, Alêa," Kida sighed. "I'll braid your hair and make it pretty for when your parents come home." Alêa weakened. The little girl loved to have her hair done.

They sat on a cushion near Milo. He watched silently as Kida wove Alêa's long white hair into a neat braid. Kida was just tying the bottom off with a strand of twine when they heard the door open.

"Mätim! Täbtoap!" Alêa squealed, running into their arms. "Look, Mätim! Kida braided my hair!" she exclaimed.  
"Very lovely," Lina said. She turned to Kida. "Did Alêa give you any trouble?" Lina asked.

"No trouble at all," Kida said.

"Did you have a good time?" Milo asked.

"If you can call celebrating two thousand years of marriage 'fun,' then we did," Oton joked.

"Oton!!!" Lina gasped.

"Oh, I'm just kidding and you know it," Oton laughed.

"We had a lovely time," Lina said. The couple embraced. Then Oton scooped Alêa up and put her on his shoulders. Alêa squealed with delight.

Milo eyed Kida carefully. She was observing the loving family. _She wants that_, Milo thought. _She wants to get married and raise a family_. He couldn't stop his next thought. _And so do I_.

* * *

Throck's men dragged Milo's limp body into his cell and dumped him on the lumpy cushion in the corner.

"It won't be long now, sire," one of the guards informed Throck. "Shall we finish him off?"

"No, not yet," Throck said. "I want him and Kida to die together."

"How are you going to arrange that?" the guard asked.

"I have my ways," Throck said. "I want him kept alive until I give the word, understand?" The man nodded. "Oh, and- make sure he's in pain every moment," Throck added cruelly.

* * *

Milo led Kida to "their secret spot." It was a little blue crystalline cave behind a waterfall. "Oh, I love this place," Kida sighed. "It's so beautiful."

Milo pointed at the waterfall. "Hey, look!" he exclaimed. "It's the back side of water!"

Kida laughed and rolled her eyes. Milo looked at her and his face grew serious. "Kida," he said. "I brought you here to ask you a very important question."

"What is it, Milo?" Kida asked. Milo was growing nervous. Was he ready for this? Was she? Did she feel the same way about him as he did about her? Would she turn away from him?  
Kida looked at him with concern. There was no turning back now. He needed to tell her. He needed to know.

"Kida," he said. "I don't want you to do anything you don't want to. I want to make that clear right now."

"Milo, what is wrong?" Kida asked.

He took a deep breath. "Kida, we've known each other for two years now."

"Yes, we have."

"I know that by Atlantean standards that's not a very long time, but still..." He trailed off.

"Milo, what are you getting at?" Kida interrupted.

"I'm kind of out of practice, but..." Milo got down on his knees.

"Milo, what are you doing down there?"

"Kida, please hear me out." He took her hand. "There comes a time in every man's life..." he cut off. That just didn't sound right. He looked at her hand in his. Her long, dark, slender fingers overlapping with his pale, square, boxy hand. They looked so funny together; yet they felt so right.

"What is going on here?" Kida demanded. It was now or never. He took another deep breath and it all poured out.

"What I'm trying to say, Kida, is that I love you. And I want to be with you every day and every night forever and ever. And I want to raise a family with you, and grow old with you, and die with you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and even longer." He sighed in relief. There. He'd said it.

Kida stared at him blankly.

"Don't you get it?" he exclaimed. "I'm asking you to marry me! But only if you want to," he added quickly.

"Marry you?" Kida repeated. "If I want to?" She looked like she was in shock. Then, suddenly, she snapped out of it. "Of course I want to!" she exclaimed.

"Really?" Milo asked.

Kida knelt beside him. "Yes, really, Milo. I love you!" She wrapped her arms around him.  
"Yeah, me too," he said, stunned. This couldn't really be happening! He couldn't believe it. He, Milo Thatch, the nerd, the loser, the man whose only friend had been a cat, he was going to marry the girl of his dreams, the only woman he'd ever loved. It was too good to be true!

Kida shifted in his arms and gazed at him. "I can't tell you how happy you've made me," she whispered to him.

"As much as Lina and Oton?" Milo asked.

"Much, much more..."

* * *

"Kida," Milo moaned. He opened his eyes. He was in Throck's dungeon again. The happy memory had been nothing more than a dream. Kida was still gone.

"You're pretty lonesome, aren't you, Thatch?" Throck said, entering the cell with Orion at his heels. "Dreaming about the little wife again?" Milo looked away. "Don't take it so hard, Milo," Throck continued. "You'll see Kida again. In fact, it won't be long now!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Milo demanded.

"That's for me to know and you to find out," Throck sneered.

Milo weakly rose to his feet. "Leave her alone, Throck!" he warned.

"You know, you don't look so good, Thatch," Throck said. "Maybe you should lie down!" With that, he punched Milo hard in the stomach. Milo collapsed back onto the cushion in pain. Orion cringed and looked away.

"Well, we'd better be going," Throck said, gesturing to Orion. "Enjoy your stay, Thatch!" He and Orion headed out the door. Orion locked it behind them, all the while taking extra care not to make eye contact with the prisoner.

Milo's head was spinning. The blackness was coming back. Right before he slipped away, he saw Kida's beautiful face in his mind's eye. "I love you," he whispered.


	7. Chapter Six

**The Dark Ones  
Chapter 6**

"What is your name?" Kida questioned the prisoner.

"I am called Nashir," he replied.

"I see. Who sent you?" she asked, although she already knew the answer.

"Throck."

"Why did Throck send you?"

"Come on. You know perfectly well why he sent me," Nashir said.

Kida gritted her teeth, but chose to ignore his impertinence. "Where is Throck now?" she asked.

"I'm not telling you that!"

Change the subject. "What did your friends do with Milo?" Kida inquired. Her voice shook as she spoke, betraying her true feelings and anxieties. The prisoner snickered, but did not reply. "Will you not answer any of my questions?" she demanded. Nashir remained silent. "Very well then. You are useless to me." She turned to a nearby soldier. "Kill him."

"No! No, please!" another prisoner shouted, stepping out of a corner and into the light. It was a young woman, extremely thin, but still pretty, with a blue tattoo stretching across her nose.

"Lelai, be silent!" Nashir exclaimed.

"No," the woman said. "Nashir, if you won't tell her, I will."

"Lelai..." Nashir warned.

"Your Majesty, may I speak to you in private?" Lelai said defiantly.

Kida nodded. "Come with me," she instructed. She left Nashir with a guard and led Lelai to her private study. Once there, Kida eyed the prisoner carefully. In the better lighting, Kida could now see that the woman was extremely emaciated. Her ribs were plainly visible and her thin face emphasized her high cheek bones.

The prisoner gazed about the room in awe. It was lavishly furnished, with shelves of books and scrolls. Something caught Lelai's eye. She walked to a portrait hanging nearby on the wall, and gently reached out to touch it. She turned to Kida. "Is this your husband?" Lelai asked curiously, gesturing to the painting.

Kida stared at the portrait. She could feel her heart breaking all over again as she looked at it. Milo looked so handsome there, smiling wistfully, his soft brown eyes gazing out through his glasses. Only a few days ago, those eyes had been gazing at her. Kida burst into tears.

"Your Majesty, what is wrong?" Lelai gasped. Kida shook her head. She couldn't bring herself to speak. "You really do love him, don't you?" Lelai asked softly.

"With all my heart," Kida sobbed, choking on her words. _Milo, Milo, you can_'_t be gone. I love you so much. _

"I know how you feel," Lelai continued. "When you love somebody that much, you'd do absolutely anything for them." Kida nodded glumly. "That's why I am telling you this. You see, Nashir is my husband, and I love him more than my very life. I would do anything to ensure his safety." She gently touched Kida's shoulder. "You just cry all you need to, Your Highness, and when you feel better I will tell you everything you need to know."

* * *

"After we were banished, we ventured into the surrounding caves, looking for a suitable place to build a new life for ourselves," Lelai began. "After several days we came upon a secluded spot and began to use the supplies you provided us with to build in order to make shelters for ourselves." She paused, sighing. "I don't know how it happened, but one day on a hunting expedition the men came across something...

"To this day I have absolutely no idea where or what it is, but the men found some sort of power source, similar to Atlantis' Living Crystal, but...different. Darker. Throck used it to build a huge city, he calls it 'Trokia,' with elaborate walkways, hidden passages, and other things. I'm not sure what. Women aren't allowed to know these things.

"It was wonderful for a while. Some of us women even talked about making peace with Atlantis and inviting our former friends to see our new homes in Trokia. But then things took a bad turn. You see, Throck still wants Atlantis, and he won't give it up. He began formulating this 'master plan,' and he got Nashir involved in it. I tried to warn Nashir, but when Throck gets going there's no stopping him." Lelai sighed again. "Then there was last night's raid. Throck sent us to try and capture yourself and your husband. I'm assuming that he figured once he had you two, it would be easy for him to get Atlantis. That's all I know."

Kida sat there a moment, trying to take it all in slowly. A dark power source? A plot to overthrow the Atlantean throne? A hidden empire? How could her scouts have missed this?

"I can give you directions to Trokia...if you promise to spare Nashir's life," Lelai said. "Please, Your Majesty. I beg of you, spare him."

"I give you my word," Kida said. She had to trust Lelai. It was her only hope of ever seeing Milo again.

Lelai's face lit up. "Oh, thank you, Täneb-toat! Thank you!" she exclaimed, her voice shrill with relief.

"All right, all right," Kida grinned. "Now, about Trokia."

"Oh, yes, of course. It is very cleverly hidden, you see. It was only an accident that we discovered it in the first place, and then Throck hid the entrance, so now it's even more difficult to find. First, you must travel thirty wokanos to the north..."

* * *

"Kida, I don't think this is a very good idea," Meera said.

"Meera, I have to do this," Kida replied.

"But what if something should happen to you?" Nakia said.

"Then Meera's in charge," Kida said without hesitation.

"I can't do that!" Meera exclaimed.

"Why not? That's what you've been in training for!" Kida said. "Replacement if something should happen to me."

"_KIDA!_" Meera gasped, exasperated.

Nakia cut her off. "Kida, does he really mean this much to you?" she asked.

"Yes. This much and more. Much, much more."

"Then there's no stopping you," Nakia said.

"Absolutely not," Kida said firmly.

"Then I guess all we can do is wish you good luck," Nakia finished.

"Yes, good luck, Kida," Meera said whole-heartedly. "And please come back alive!"

"I shall do my very best!" Kida grinned. She got into the small ketak that was waiting to take her on her journey to Trokia. Her mission: rescue Milo and stop Throck's plans.

The fish-like vehicle rose softly into the night air. Her friends called good luck to her one more time, then the vehicle sped off into the night.


	8. Chapter Seven

**The Dark Ones  
Chapter 7**

"Nakia, what's wrong with you? Why did you let her go?" Meera demanded, whirling on the taller woman as soon as Kida's ketak had vanished from sight.

Nakia frowned. "I had to, Meera." Meeranakash looked about as unconvinced as Nakia felt. "You know how she gets when she's like this. There's no stopping her. It's better that she leaves with our support than having to sneak away.

Meera glared and flopped down on the steps in front of the palace. "Yes, but what if we never see her again? She's the Queen, not me!"

Nakia couldn't help but smile as Meera jutted out her lower lip. Nakia sat gingerly at Meera's side. "She'll be fine, Meera."

"How do you know?"

Nakia chewed her lip fretfully. "I can't _know_, but..." She looked Meera straight in the eye. "She's been in worse situations than this, she's always pulled through."

Meera was reassured by these words. "That's true. Even when we were kids, she was always getting herself into and out of danger."

Nakia nodded. "Kida's always been strong. Stronger than I could ever be."

"Me, too," Meera agreed.

"The way she managed to pull Atlantis together, so soon after her father's death..." Nakia trailed off.

"Of course, she had Milo to help her through it," Meera added. "I remember Kida saying that she could never have made it without him. He gave her strength."

Nakia nodded. "It's odd, isn't it? It seems like he's always been with us, but he's only been here, what–ten years?"

Meera looked down, silently. After a moment, she whispered, "They're part of each other. Kida _has_ to find him. She needs him. They're two halves of a whole."

The two Atlantean women gazed silently into the sky that Kida had disappeared into.

"I remember that night...The night her father died."

—

Kida gazed in the mirror and adjusted the crown one more time. She frowned. The reflection looking back at her was no longer Kida–it was Queen Kidagakash Nedakh. The "new" Kida. It felt all wrong. Just hours ago, Kida had been the carefree princess with the spiky bangs and unruly white hair, dressed in a lightweight tube-top and a sarong. Now, here she was, every hair in place, bangs pushed back exposing her large, bare forehead, dressed in silken robes with a feathery crown atop her head. In one day Kida had gone from princess to queen, and she wasn't liking it one bit.

Nakia hurried in. "Kida, you're going to be late for the... ceremony." Nakia stopped short when she saw the new queen. She knelt on the floor. "Your Highness," she murmured.

"Don't you dare call me that!" Kida gasped. "I'm just 'Kida,' remember?" She gestured to the painting of her mother hanging over the dressing table. "She's 'Your Highness.' I'm not ready to be queen. Not yet, and I don't know if I ever will be."

Nakia nodded knowingly. "I'm sorry about what happened, Kida," she said. Kida bit her lip. She had momentarily forgotten her father's death. Now the void returned, worse than ever. Suddenly time seemed to stretch endlessly before her.

Kida gazed in the mirror once more, sighed, and reluctantly left her chambers, heading for the elaborate banquet hall, which had been restored to its former grandeur after years of neglect for the ceremony. She glanced around the palace. It looked so different now. The Crystal, upon its return, had returned the ruined buildings of the empire to the way they had been before the Mëbelmōk. A vague memory flittered through Kida's head...

_A memory of three little girls–Meera, Nakia, and herself- giggling while they ran through this corridor... Queen Maralana laughing and calling out to them... Meera_'_s older sister, Lina, rolling her eyes, trying hard not to smile..._

Kida shook the thought from her head and pushed open the door to the banquet hall. The guests of honor turned to her. A small smile sprang to her lips when she saw how silly the outsiders looked in Atlantean attire. Cookie had pulled his toga on over his waders, and he looked utterly ridiculous. Mrs. Packard had obviously put her tunic on wrong, because it sagged in all the wrong places. Vinny's pale, stubbly legs protruded from his kilt, and Mole shifted uncomfortably in his robe. However, Joshua Sweet was well-suited for the Atlantean vest and sarong garb he wore, and Audrey looked exquisite in her blue linen dress.

"Kida! You look absolutely beautiful!" Milo exclaimed, walking towards her. Kida froze when she saw him. He looked so handsome in his Atlantean chiton, the blue crystal pendant sparkling around his neck...

_Stop it!_ Kida's senses returned to her. _He_'_s going home tomorrow, and you_'_ll never see him again. Don_'_t let yourself get attached to him, or you_'_ll have to cope with his absence as well Täbtoap_'_s!_

Milo bowed before her. "Your Excellency, I'd be honored if you would allow me to be your escort tonight," he said in his best attempt at being suave.

"Very funny, Milo," Kida muttered. Milo grinned, took her arm, and led her to her seat. She sat down, and he sat down beside her. Guests began filing in one by one. Kida watched silently. Momentary distractions were doing little to prevent her thoughts from returning to plague her. _Täbtoap, why didn_'_t you tell me? It wouldn_'_t have changed anything. You_'_re my father, and I love you. That will never change._

Her mind began replaying the day's events. Seeing her father's lifeless body lying peacefully on his bed. Hearing the real story of the Mëbelmōk not from her father, but from outsiders to the city. Kida's mind traveled further back, to her return from the Crystal. She remembered waking up in Milo's arms...

Kida's face flushed at the thought, and she tried to drive it out of her mind. She glanced over at the scholar, who was talking animatedly to the people sitting around him. What he had said earlier...had she imagined it? He told her he loved her...but how could he? They had barely known each other a day, and he would be leaving forever before long.

Kida looked down. Her mind must have been playing tricks on her. That couldn't have been what Milo said–just what she wanted him to say. Although she barely knew him, she wanted him to love her, to stay with her forever. She scolded herself for thinking such a selfish thought–it was his choice whether to stay or to leave, not hers–but she couldn't change her feelings. He had given her so much, and now he was going to leave...and she would be alone.

The master of ceremonies' voice caught Kida's attention. It was her turn to speak. So she took a deep breath and told her people everything. The whole story of how her father, her beloved Täbtoap, had misused the Heart of Atlantis, thus banishing her people from the surface world. She told her people how it had been an accident, and how he had wished he could take it back, and how he had spent the rest of his life trying to protect his people from their past.

Kida took a deep breath. She could feel the tears coming. Suddenly, she felt Milo's hand slip into hers. She wanted to wrench it away, but she couldn't make herself do it. So she just took a deep breath and continued with her speech.  
It all spilled out. Rourke's betrayal. The murder of her father. The Crystal Chamber. Her joining with the Living Crystal. Her abduction by Rourke. How Milo had gone against all odds to rally the Atlantean warriors and his fellow explorers, and how he had used the ancient vehicles to destroy the evil forces. The crusaders' brilliant victory. The volcano. The Stone Giants. She told her people everything. They deserved to know.

"We are at the beginning of a new era, my people," Kida said solemnly, after she finished her tale. "Our past has been restored to us, and it is our responsibility to make sure that it is never again forgotten." She thought of her father, and struggled against tears as she continued, "We have lost much, but we must never forget who we are."

Inhaling deeply, Kida added, "My father made many mistakes, but in the end, he was a kind and benevolent King, and a loving parent to all Atlanteans. I shall do my best to live up to him as..." Her voice wavered. "...As Atlantis' new ruler. Together, we shall make this city great again."

The crowd cheered. The crusaders stood up and bowed to the people. Then the festivities began. There was music and dancing, and fine foods. Vinny had a lengthy conversation with an Atlantean man in Italian. Mole had a short lived conversation in French with Meera, which began with "Voulêz-vous...?" and ended with Meera smacking him across the face. Everyone around them erupted into laughter.

Kida, however, appeared to care nothing about the festivities. She merely stared off at nothing. Nakia eyed her closely.

"That little Mole-y thing tried to get fresh with me!" Meera exclaimed, approaching Nakia. She cut off when she saw the concerned look on Nakia's face. Meera followed Nakia's gaze. "Oh," she whispered. "Poor Kida."

"I just feel so bad for her," Nakia said sadly. "I mean, both of my parents are still alive."

"Mine, too," added Meera.

"We should try to help her," Nakia said.

"Can I try something?" Milo said, joining the conversation.

"Oh! You're, um, Milo Thatch, right?" Nakia asked.

"Right," Milo grinned.

"Oh, well I'm Nakia, and this is Meeranakash," Nakia stuttered, still surprised by the outsider's interruption.

"Yeah, I've met Meera," he said, nodding.

"Do you think you could help?" Meera asked.

"Well, my parents both died when I was really small, and my grandpa just died a few years ago, so I really know what this is like," Milo said softly.

"Nakia, Kida seems to like and trust Milo. Let's give him a try," Meera urged.

Nakia raised a brow, but nodded. "Very well, Milo Thatch-tōat. Do as you will." As Milo headed in Kida's direction, Nakia turned to Meera. "All right, Meeranakash, what are you planning?"

"I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about," Meera said, avoiding Nakia's eyes.

"Wasn't it your doing that your sister and Oton are married now?"

"Possibly," Meera giggled. "Okay, you got me. But wouldn't Milo and Kida just be the cutest couple?"

"Meera, you think of only one thing," Nakia stated in exasperation.

"Well, let's just see what happens," Meera said, turning to the pair several feet away. "I mean, he seems to like her; maybe she has feelings for him, too."

—

"Kida, are you okay?" Milo asked, touching her shoulder. Kida jumped, looking up at him with a red face. She hadn't noticed him approach, as she had been lost in her thoughts.

"Oh, yes," she replied, tucking some wayward hair behind her ears. "I was just thinking..." She drifted off, unsure of what to say next. '_I_'_m not ready to be Queen_'? '_I can_'_t do it by myself_'? '_I need you to stay with me_'? She couldn't tell him such a thing. She was Queen now. Her father was dead. Kida swallowed hard. _I cannot be a child anymore_, she told herself.

"What is it?" Milo asked, crouching and looking up into her eyes.

"It's nothing," she said quickly, turning away from Milo.

Milo frowned. _I knew it. I came on too strong earlier,_ he thought disconcertedly. _What was I thinking? Why can_'_t I just keep my mouth closed? I always have to ruin everything..._ He took a deep breath, steadying himself. "Look, Kida, about what I said earlier..."

Kida looked up, wide eyed. _Could it be?_

Before either of them could say anything, though, Dr. Sweet interrupted them, gesturing Milo to his side and speaking to him in a low tone. "I couldn't," Milo protested, but Sweet urged him. So Milo returned his gaze to the Queen and said, "Kida, do you want to dance? It might make you feel better."

Kida stared, unsure of what to say.

"Oh, come on, Your Majesty. Milo can show you how to waltz. That's a popular dance on the surface," Dr. Sweet added.

"Sweet, I don't think..." Milo began.

"Very well," Kida said, shrugging reluctantly.

"Really?" Milo beamed.

"Yes."

While Milo helped Kida to her feet, Sweet turned to Meera and Nakia and gave them a big thumbs-up sign. Meera grinned. Nakia rolled her eyes again, but smiled as well. Then the band slowed the music down a bit, and Milo took Kida into his arms.

"Oh come on, Milo, hold her tighter. She won't break," Sweet encouraged.

"For the waltz?"

"Of course!"

"Sweet, who taught you how to waltz? You don't–" Milo began.

"Milo, don't look a gift horse in the mouth," Sweet quipped. Milo grumbled and tightened his grip on Kida.

"What was that supposed to mean?" Kida asked, confused by the American proverb.

"Nothing," Milo mumbled. "Okay, I'm not very good, but...1-2-3- 1-2-3- 1-2-3..." He slowly began to lead Kida across the dance floor. She picked up the moves quickly. "That's it!" Milo exclaimed.

Kida smiled and rested her head on his shoulder. For a few moments, at least, her cares were gone.

Sweet approached Meera and Nakia, grinning. "So, how'd I do?" he beamed.

"Excellent!" Meera said proudly. "Aren't they cute, Lina?"

"Not as cute as me and Oton," Lina grinned. "But, yeah."

"Aren't they 'Sweet?'" Sweet punned. Nakia folded her arms, choosing to ignore that remark. She had never been very good with romantic situations; they made her uncomfortable. Nevertheless, she was pleased that Kida seemed to be enjoying herself. Perhaps Meera's scheme was just what Kida needed, after all.

Milo smiled at Kida, who had her eyes closed and had her head laying on his shoulder, softly breathing on his neck. It just made him so happy. Suddenly he picked her up off the ground and spun her around. Kida squealed in surprise. Milo gently set her back down on the ground.

"Milo...What...?" Kida stammered in surprise.

Milo grinned. "How do you feel?" he asked.

"Dizzy... lightheaded... why did you...?"

"That's how I feel every time you look at me. Every time you speak to me, I get chills. Every time you touch me, my heart stops," Milo whispered. "I've wanted to tell you that all day long, I just... couldn't. Kida, I..." She cut him off, rising up on tiptoe and kissing him. Then she broke out of his arms and fled from the building into the evening air.

Milo stared after her, stunned. "Kida?!" he shouted, sprinting after her. The citizens stared as the Queen, followed by the outsider, fled from the banquet hall.

"WHAT HAPPENED???!!!" Meera shrieked hysterically.

"I intend to find out!" Nakia said firmly, and she, followed by Meera and Lina, hurried outside.

—

Kida ran until she got all the way to one of the city's many rivers. She fell to her knees on the bank and gazed at her reflection in the water. She hated what she saw. Kida ripped the crown off her head and pushed her bangs into position. _That_'_s me,_ Kida thought, _not that overdressed royal official._

Sighing, Kida gazed up at the Mother Crystal hovering high above her; the legendary source of their power, their life force, that had been hidden from her people for thousands of years. _Why did it have to turn out this way? _she wondered. _Täbtoap_,_ if you had told me...would any of this have happened? Would you still be here?_

Resignedly, she pulled up her long skirt and eased her feet into the cool water of the stream_. Can I really do this? What if I fail? _she asked herself, afraid of the answer.A tear slid down her cheek, and she did nothing to stop it.

"Kida?" she heard a voice say softly behind her. She turned to see Milo standing a short distance away from her. "Kida...what's wrong? Please tell me." He knelt beside her. "Please."

Kida drew in her breath. She had told him so much this day, about her past, her memories; yet, somehow, it was so hard to talk about her feelings now. Turning her eyes away from him, Kida picked up her discarded crown andbrought it forward.

Milo furrowed his brow. "You don't want to be Queen?"

"Not yet," she replied quietly. "Not so...suddenly." Milo gazed at her intently as she continued. "So much has changed in just one day, and now everyone's depending on me." Her voice dropped to almost a whisper. "And I'm all alone."

Milo adjusted his position, sitting beside her and dipping his feet into the water. "You're not alone," he said reassuringly. Kida looked at him. "You have me."

Kida smiled wistfully. "For how much longer, though?"

Milo's eyes widened with realization. Wordlessly, he rose to his feet and pulled Kida into his arms. "Kida, you'll always have me. You're putting to much pressure on yourself. You don't have to bear this burden alone. Whenever the pain gets too hard for you to carry by yourself...give it to me. I'll help you, no matter what...if you let me."

Kida buried her face in his chest. The tears were flowing freely now, but she didn't care. Milo continued, "I know how you feel, Kida. When my Grandpa died, I felt so alone in the world. But we can't give up. We have to keep going. And..." He paused, feeling a prickling behind his own eyes. "And we can give each other strength."

Kida smiled through her tears, holding Milo tightly. Then you'll stay with me?" she asked.

Milo stroked her hair. "I'll stay. Forever." He smiled as Kida squeezed him tightly. _I_'_ll never leave you...never._

Nakia, Meera, and Lina watched from behind a nearby tree. "I told you!" Meera giggled. "Everything worked out for the best!"  
Nakia nodded. "I have to admit, Meera, you were right. Maybe love really is magic." She smiled at the couple embracing in the night air.

"Are they gonna get married, Mätim?" a tiny voice said to Lina. Lina looked down and saw her daughter, Alêa, smiling up at them. She had followed them from the celebration.

Lina put her arm around the girl and smiled. "Perhaps."

—

Meera sighed at the memory. "Milo and Kida truly are lucky to have each other. I wish I had a great love like that."

Nakia snorted, looking at Meera with a grin. "What else is new?"

"I'll ignore that," Meera said, staring up at the Mother Crystal. "You know...I thought I found him, once...but I was wrong."

Nakia looked at Meera inquisitively. "Found who?" she asked.

Meera laughed. "Oh, never mind." She rose to her feet. "We made the right decision. Letting Kida go, that is." She clasped her hands behind her back confidently. "Kida and Milo will be home and safe soon, and this will all be behind us."

Nakia smiled and nodded. Rising to her feet, she headed into the palace, leaving Meera to her thoughts. _May the Spirits of Atlantis be with you on your journey, Kida, my almost-sister. I will try my best to fill your place while awaiting your return. You are always in my thoughts_.


	9. Chapter Eight

**The Dark Ones  
Chapter 8**

Kida peered about the dim cave. She was looking for the marker Lelai had spoken of. _It should be around here somewhere... _something caught her eye. She held her crystal pendant up for a closer look. In the light, she could see it was a tiny carving, just as Lelai had described it.

Kida placed her hand on the carving as Lelai had instructed her to do: thumb and pointer finger spread, middle and ring fingers together, pinkie spread. Then she pressed in the carving. It began to glow red, then the wall slid open. Kida stepped through the porthole, and the wall slid shut behind her.

Kida gazed about her surroundings. She appeared to be on some form of veranda, or perhaps a long raised corridor. Curious, she cautiously stepped towards the railing and peered over. Her jaw dropped in awe as she found herself looking out over an immense city carved entirely of stone. She had found Trokia, Throck's hidden domain! And what a domain it was. Raised passageways entwined throughout the whole city. The buildings seemed to glow with a supernatural red light. Sounds bounced and echoed here and there throughout the carved dwelling places.

After a few moments, Kida shook herself out of the daze and began to head down the passageway. A little way along, the passage narrowed and grew surprisingly dark. Her crystal pendant grew brighter and threw light on the shadows, as if trying to show Kida the way. Truthfully, she was beginning to grow a bit nervous. Trokia was tightly closed in and almost spooky, nothing at all like the airy beauty of Atlantis. As she continued down the passage, she began hearing sounds, sounds like she had never heard before: echoes, shadows, whispers of a distant occurrence.

As she progressed further down the corridor, beams of red light began to drift down from the ceiling, creating an eerie effect. It illuminated strange carvings on the wall. She peered at these curiously, but had no way of deciphering them. _This place... _Kida was really getting anxious now, but nonetheless she continued onward. The passage began widening and growing brighter, which was relieving, but those sounds were getting louder and louder with each step. They were more identifiable now, and Kida was not liking what she was hearing. Strange metallic sounds; drilling noises; pops and sizzles; human screams.

_What is going on here?_ Kida thought nervously. She stepped onto another overhang, which overlooked some sort of warehouse. Hundreds of people toiled below, all clad in black with blue writing across their breasts, though the words were too far away for Kida to decipher. They appeared to be constructing machines of some sort, kinds that the Queen had never before seen. She leaned in for a closer look, and was shocked by what she saw.

Far below her, men, women, and children toiled as men with black masks watched over them, harassing them, beating them, shouting, "Faster! Faster!" Kida was confused. _Why are those men forcing these people to work? And why does everyone looked so scared?_ She had never seen such a thing in her life.

Suddenly, a little boy stumbled and fell. His comrades tried to help him up, but the boy was simply too weak to work any longer. A nearby overseer saw the commotion. "What's going on over there?" he demanded. The others looked up in fear.

"Come on!" a man cried, trying to pull the lad to his feet. He collapsed again.

"Niipuk!" a woman spat. "You will destroy us all! Get up!" But it was too late, for the overseer was nearly upon them.

"Step away," he commanded. The people around the boy froze, and the man gazed defiantly at the overseer. "Give him a moment," the man said. "He's just a boy."

"I haven't time for weakness," the overseer snarled. "You are paying off your debts to Lord Throck. Need I remind you that none of you would be here if you hadn't defied our lord? This is the price of treason."

"We merely voiced an opinion–"

"Just like now? Apparently you still haven't learned your lesson." He struck the man hard across the face. "Now, I said _step away_." The frightened people scurried away from the boy like mice. One person cursed, "All is lost for him!"

The overseer directed his attention to the child. "Stand up, young fool."

"I can't!" the little boy cried. "I'm hungry and I'm tired!"

"Lord Throck has ordered these vehicles to be completed in three days. Would you defy him?" the overseer sneered.

"No, sir, but I feel so weak– "

"I care not how you feel, I only care about meeting this deadline! Now stand!" shouted the overseer. The boy tried and failed. "No? Are you too numb? Then I shall force the feeling back into your limbs!" With that, he began mercilessly lashing the boy.

"_No_!" a nearby person screamed. Another pulled a little girl close, covering her eyes. High above, Kida had her hand clasped over her mouth in horror. She had to fight herself not to cry out. Finally, she closed her eyes and sank to the floor, sobbing. _Why do they do this? Why do they beat young children? Why do they torture the innocent, force them to do labor like this? What are they doing? Why?_ She finally gathered the strength to rise to her feet and leave the room of screams behind, but she left with even more questions about this evil place than before, and still no answers.  
As she continued along, the echoes grew fainter, and the passage once again became narrow and dark. She walked slowly and cautiously. Suddenly, her crystal pendant grew bright, and pulled her in the direction of a wall, illuminating a complex carving. It appeared to be a map...a map of Trokia? Yes, that must be. But it was so complex! Passageways leading every which direction, some cutting off in a dead end, others intersecting with even more corridors.

A sound behind her made Kida whirl. She could hear voices behind her, growing closer and stronger. She could see two small red lights shining like beacons at the far end of the corridor, growing brighter. Her heart filled with fear. Surely they would see her! Desperate, Kida stepped back as far as she could against the wall. Instantly, the wall swung open and she fell into yet another corridor. The porthole closed behind her. She quickly pressed her ear against the wall and listened as two Trokians walked past. Their voices gently drifted away, and then they were gone. Kida sighed with relief. She was safe, for now.

Kida glanced down this new corridor. It appeared just as endless as the other. But seeing as she had no idea how to re-open that wall, she decided that she might as well just follow this one and hope it didn't lead to a dead end. She began walking forward. As she went further along, she noticed an eerie red glowing at the end of the passage. She hurried along, curious to see what it was. Finally, she reached the corridor's end–a wide balcony, looking out over a huge chamber. Hovering in the midst of it all was a huge crystal. This must be the Trokian power source!

But this crystal was nothing like the Heart of Atlantis! It was lumpy, a rather odd shape, and black, like a volcanic rock. Several cracks ran down it, and these glowed red, filling the entire cavern with crimson light. Kida peered closely at this bizarre stone. It seemed familiar to her. But why? Suddenly, it dawned on her. Could it be?

As if in response to her scrutiny, the mysterious orb slowly rotated to face Kida. Then she knew: this crystal had once been a man. And not any man–this was the crystallized remains of Commander Rourke! His face was contorted in pain, his evil eyes now glistening scarlet...just as Milo had left him.

Kida suddenly felt very weak as the memories of ten years ago began to whirl about her head, taking her over...

* * *

She surfaced for air one last time. _I_'_d better head back now,_ Kida thought to herself. _Milo will worry._ But she had to look at those murals one last time. What had been, up to this point, nothing but confusing, meaningless paintings on underwater ruins suddenly all made sense. And all thanks to one wonderful man: her new friend, Milo Thatch. All he had taught her, and she had only met him this morning!

As she swam back to the shore, the day's events played over in her head. A few weeks before she had left with her warrior friends on a hunting expedition. But they found not prey; rather, they found explorers from the surface world! Hundreds of times before, outsiders had tried to enter Atlantis, and Kida had always slain them. But not this time. The princess could not bear to watch her city fall into ruin any longer. Her curiosity and passion got the better of her, and she allowed them to live, constantly watching them.

In time, her interest began to fall solely on a certain young man in the group. Kida was fascinated by him. He was rather scrawny, and wore bizarre shields over his eyes. But as she watched him, she learned that he knew the way to Atlantis, and that he was exceedingly excited and eager to find it. This amused Kida.

The preceding evening, Kida had finally given in to her curiosity. When the man went to sleep, she crept over to his tent and began rummaging through his items. Unfortunately, she had awoken the young man, and barely escaped without being caught. A few minutes later, the fire-flies were aroused by his movements, and attacked the camp, setting it ablaze. Kida watched in horror as the explorers tried to escape. A fire-fly landed on one of their vehicles, causing it to explode. The ancient stone bridge they were crossing crumbled, and they all fell into the pit–except the young man. Kida saw him land in a nearby cavern, propelled by the explosion.

Kida scurried to where he had fallen. He was lying limp in the corner. At first she thought him dead, which oddly disturbed her. She removed her warrior's mask, and gently knelt beside the man. She had not seen anyone like him before. She touched his face, and he groaned. Kida started, but then sighed with relief. _He lives!_ She looked closely and saw that he was severely wounded: his shirt was torn, revealing a deep, bloody gash. Without her help he would soon die; but her father's law forbade...

A sound behind her caused Kida to jump, and she pulled her mask back on and whirled. It was only her warrior friends, though. They moved past her and began poking and prodding the man with their spear tips. This only caused him to stir more uncomfortably. He was waking up. "Should we kill him?" one warrior asked.

"No," Kida said thoughtfully. The man opened his eyes, and leapt back, startled. Kida smiled. _He_'_s frightened of our masks!_ she thought. She approached him again, and removed her mask. He stared at her in shock. She knelt and touched his shoulder softly. He winced. _He is in so much pain. I must heal him! But Täbtoap said...Täbtoap said..._ He gazed at her with inquisitive, pained, soft brown eyes. Suddenly, defiantly, Kida grasped the crystal pendant at her throat and touched it to his wound. There was a flash of light, and the man was healed. He gazed down, then up at Kida in shock. Kida smiled. She knew she had done the right thing–but would Täbtoap agree?

The sound of machines growing closer told Kida it was time to go. With one last glance in the man's direction, she and her friends sprinted away. She could hear him calling to her in a foreign language...could it be English? No matter. The princess knew that the man and his friends were hot on the Atlanteans' tails. Now there was no way to prevent them from finding Atlantis short of killing them, and this Kida could not do.

Soon all the explorers were standing on the misty vista overlooking Atlantis, and Kida knew it was time to reveal herself. She stepped out of her hiding place, and, looking straight in the eye of the man she had healed, asked who he was and where he and his companions came from. He responded in shaky Atlantean, but soon it became clear that these explorers were friendly, so Kida warmly welcomed them in English, the explorers' native language. She soon learned that the leader of the expedition was the rugged Commander Rourke, his second-in-command was the woman warrior Helga Sinclair, and that the young man, the "linguist" of the team– his name was Milo Thatch.

After a miserable meeting with the King, it was decided that the explorers would be forced to leave the next morning. Though Kida tried to reason with her father, it was no use. Angrily she had stalked out of his throne room, and right into Milo Thatch. Excitedly, Kida had dragged him into an interview, in which she learned that Milo could read Atlantean, knowledge that her father had forbidden herself and her people to possess. Milo and Kida had spent the day in each other's company, learning about each other's friends and cultures, their very lifestyles. They had hiked to the top of a mountain. They had caught fire-flies in a glass lantern. The two had had an utterly wonderful day together, and as the day passed Kida was having more and more trouble accepting that he'd be leaving her the next day.

Finally, Kida had led Milo to a lagoon, where they swam to some underwater ruins, which had writing all around the pictures. Milo had read it, and explained to her that the reason Atlantis had not been destroyed when the Great Flood came was because it possessed a great power source, a life force, a living crystal. Kida's questions were finally being answered!

"I'm going back to the surface," Milo had said a few minutes before.

"I shall join you in a moment. I wish to look at the murals one last time. They are so much more meaningful to me now," Kida replied.

"Okay then, I guess I'll meet up with you in a few minutes," he grinned.

"Yes," she said. Milo began to dive, but she stopped him. "Milo, I- I... thank you," Kida whispered, wrapping her arms around him. "You've done so much for me."

Milo turned vivid red. "It's- it's nothing, r-really," he stammered. "Well, uh, bye." He dove under the water and headed back to the lagoon.

Kida was utterly giddy as she swam back to shore. She had such a warm feeling inside of her, like nothing she had ever known! Just everything, all these wonderful things she'd learned, and Milo... oh, Milo! _What_'_s wrong with me?_ Kida thought. _This is so incredible, and frightening, and wonderful at the same time! What has gotten into me?_ She gleefully surfaced in the knee-deep water, and...

...was yanked out by the hair by some nameless, faceless trooper. Suddenly three men were surrounding her. Kida had no idea what was going on, but she knew it was something bad. She elbowed the man who had grabbed her in the stomach. He loosened his hold on her and she grabbed his head and flipped him into the water. She lashed out with a swift kick, launching another man into the lagoon, and flipped the third onto the ground. In one swift movement she knelt, drew her knife from its place in her waistband, and plunged it towards the man's throat.

_BANG!_ Suddenly Kida's blade was out of her grasp and sailing through the air. Someone had shot it out of her hand! Stunned, Kida allowed herself to be taken by two more troopers. _What is going on here?_ she desperately thought. She was slowly beginning to take in her surroundings. The explorers were surrounding her with weapons. Rourke blew some smoke out of his gun barrel. The Commander had shot at Kida? _Yädlug, what_'_s the meaning of this?_ Suddenly it hit Kida- these "peaceful explorers" were mercenaries!

As if he had been reading her mind, the Commander said, "'Mercenary?' I prefer the term 'adventure-capitalist.'" Kida stared in confusion. How did he know...? The Commander continued, "Besides, you're the one who got us here! You led us right to the treasure chest."

_What is he talking about? I never..._ Kida thought, still in her daze. All of a sudden, she noticed the person standing next to Rourke. It was Milo! He led them "right to the treasure chest"? He had known all along? He lied to her, deceived her...Kida felt her heart shatter. _I thought you were my friend!_ She wanted to cry.

Meanwhile, Rourke and Milo's conversation had continued as Kida stood stunned and oblivious to their words. The last thing she heard was Rourke saying, "Let's try this again," and Kida felt her body be shoved roughly to the ground. She was so numb with pain, she didn't even care. She felt totally separated from her physical self, shocked and betrayed. She heard Milo call her name.

"No, Rourke, please! No!" Milo cried.

"Ready," Rourke said. Kida watched a trooper point a gun at her head.

"Rourke, you wouldn't! You can't!" Milo sputtered.

"Aim," Rourke continued. Kida heard a bolt slide into place. She lowered her head and closed her eyes. It would be quick, she knew.

"No! No!" Milo shouted. Then Kida felt someone touching her. She opened her eyes. It was Milo, shielding her from the gunman. He pulled her gently to her knees and protectively put his arms around her. She wanted to break free of his grasp but she couldn't move her limbs. "I'll do it! I'll do whatever you say," Milo told Rourke.

"I knew you'd come around," Rourke said slyly. Milo sighed and tightened his hold on Kida. Suddenly the feeling came back into her body and she pushed him away. She began to shriek at him in Atlantean.

"_Do not touch me, you liar! Traitor!_" she spouted.

"_What are you talking about?_" he replied in Kida's native tongue.

_"You said you were my friend! You wanted to help my people, you said, when in reality you will see us all die!!!_"

"What? No! That's not true!" he exclaimed, reverting back to English.

"Yes it is!" she retorted. "You know it! You will steal our Crystal and laugh as each Atlantean death adds another coin to your satchel! Is the blood of thousands nothing to you?"

"Oh, calm down, princess," Rourke interrupted. "He had nothing to do with this. He's too idealistic, too kind-hearted to think of a scheme like this. Such a shame. He could have made a fortune."

"What reason have I to believe you?" Kida asked, her voice shaking.

"You shouldn't believe us," Helga said. "But you might as well believe Milo. He couldn't lie if his life depended on it."

Kida looked about the group, then turned to Milo. "Milo, tell me the truth," she whispered.

His arms were around her again. "I wouldn't lie, Kida, especially not to you," he sighed. "I didn't know, and that's the honest truth. I wish I had known, because then I could have saved you and your people. I never would have even come. They never would have found you, and neither would have I."

There were tears in her eyes when she said, "We will not die, Milo. We will save my people. And no matter what...I will always be glad you came. I..." A second later, the troopers ripped her out of his grasp.

"Knock, knock!" Vinny said as he blasted off the door to the king's throne room. Kida tried to free herself from Helga's grasp, but to no avail.

"All right, King, where's the Crystal Chamber?" Rourke shouted. The king refused to answer. Rourke angrily punched the 20,000 year old king with such a force that it caused the old man to sink to the ground.

"_Mōkit gwënonik!!!_" Kida screamed. She once again tried to yank herself from Helga's grasp, but it was no use. Soon Rourke found the Chamber on his own, and he and Helga pulled Kida and Milo down into it.

It was then that Kida saw, for the very first time, the Heart of Atlantis, a shimmering blue crystal, and surrounding it, carved stones in the shape of the ten dead kings of Atlantis, still protecting the city millennia after their own demises. "The kings of our past," Kida whispered, and fell to her knees in prayer.  
"Tell her to wrap it up, Thatch," Rourke snarled.

Milo knelt beside Kida. He gently touched her back. She sat up and looked a him. Those eyes, those brown eyes were gazing into hers again, and once more they were filled with pain. But this time Kida knew she could do nothing to heal him. "I'm sorry," he whispered, though he had done nothing. What can I do?

Suddenly, the chamber filled with red light. Kida heard a voice calling to her...Mätim's?

_Kida, you can do something!_ the voice said.

_What?_

_Come to me, Kida, come..._

"Mätim..." Kida whispered. Her eyes filled with bright blue light as the Crystal's beams changed from crimson to azure all over again. Kida walked into the beams. _I_'_m coming, Mätim, I_'_m coming, I–_ Suddenly she heard Milo's voice, as if calling to her from a distance. _Milo!_

_Say goodbye to him, love. Tell him not to worry, for all will end well!_

Obediently, Kida did as she was told– with a twist of her own. She spoke to Milo in Atlantean, knowing that only he would understand her words. When she spoke, Milo nodded knowingly, and watched as Kida stepped into the pool beneath the Crystal. The last thing to enter Kida's mind was, _Milo, I_'_m putting all my faith in you. Don_'_t give up!_ Then she lost herself to the light.

Kida did not wake again until the battle had been fought, but she did learn how it happened. Milo, her Milo, had bravely decided to try and defeat Rourke, and he had succeeded. Apparently, Rourke had tried to get the Crystal out of Atlantis by means of balloon. When he and Milo were battling aboard this hot-air escape route, Rourke had accidentally shattered the window of the pod that was holding the Crystal. The glass, glowing with Crystal energy, proved to be Milo's weapon. He sliced Rourke's arm with it, crystallizing and deforming the evil Commander. He then crashed into the aircraft's propeller, and that supposedly been the end of Commander Rourke...

* * *

Fear entered Kida's heart as she gazed at the twisted and broken remains of this once human, now stone, but always sinister, power source. Energy had entered Rourke when Milo cut him, crystalizing his body. Rourke may have died, but it seemed that his remains, once crystallized, had become a power source of their own. However, unlike the Heart of Atlantis, which had a consciousness of its own and a will to do good, there could be no telling what the nature of _this_ crystal would be. Considering the life its host had once led, Kida decided it would be safe to assume that it would likely not be a positive one. There could be no telling how strong this crystal's powers were; they might even rival those of the Heart of Atlantis. Throck must have realized this when he and his men came across this, this...thing. Suddenly Kida realized that Throck was much more powerful and dangerous than she could ever have realized.

A sudden sound behind Kida made her whirl about. There was nothing. She peered curiously around. "That's funny," she whispered, "I could have sworn that..."

Suddenly, someone grabbed Kida from behind. She gasped and spun around. It was a Trokian guard, with a red crystal pendant around his neck, and a funny-looking weapon in his hand. "So, it looks like you've found us out, Täneb-toat. Well, no matter," he sneered. With that, he pointed his weapon at Kida. A red beam emitted from it, and then Kida's world went black.


	10. Chapter Nine

**The Dark Ones  
Chapter 9**

Kida landed with a thud on the floor of the dark cell. The sneering guard slammed the door behind her, leaving Kida only with the light from the glowing red lamp over her head.

Annoyed, she sat up and rubbed her sore wrists. The queen had suffered many indignities at the hands of these vile Trokians. They had stripped her down to nothing but her undergarments, then re-clothed her in a strapless black dress–her prison uniform. In blue lettering across the breast, it listed her name, crime, and sentence:

Kidagakash, Queen of Atlantis, Death

They had taken her Mätim's bracelet and Milo's ring away from her. Then they had marched the queen through the prison complex to her maximum security cell, all the while with burning red crystal shackles sheathing her wrists.

Kida sighed and gazed around the small, square, empty cell. Troubled thoughts raced through her head. What did Throck have in store for her? What would become of Atlantis? What was Throck plotting? And worse ideas. Where was Milo? What had they done with him? Would she ever see him again? Was Milo even alive anymore? This last concept upset Kida to the verge of tears. _This is all my fault!_ Kida thought. She finally gave up her strong reserve and crumpled onto the ground. She had unwittingly killed the only man she had ever loved.

She laid there and sobbed for an indefinite time when the sound of a door opening caused the queen to open her eyes. Silhouetted in the doorway was a shadowy figure that had haunted her in her nightmares and would continue to do so for years.

"Throck!" Kida gasped.

"Hello, Kida," Throck said simply. Anger giving her strength, Kida leapt to her feet and charged the dark one. Her eyes flashed as she lunged at him, her warrior skill at its sharpest. "I wouldn't do that!" Throck exclaimed, stretching out his hand. A jolt of red energy spouted from his outreached palm, isolating the queen and draining her of her new fortitude. She collapsed onto the floor, breathing heavily. _Where did Throck get power like that?!_ she thought, trying to collect herself.

"Fine way for a guest to act," Throck was saying. "I mean, here I gave you nice accommodations, a lovely new outfit, all the comforts of home, and what do you do? You brutally maul me." He paused here, then continued. "Well, what do you have to say for yourself?"

"Where's Milo?" was all Kida could get out, still trying to regain her composure.

"Oh, you mean him?" Throck said, stepping aside. Two guards, followed by Orion, stepped in, supporting a barely conscious Milo Thatch. He was badly bruised, bleeding, covered in sores and sweat. It was obvious that he had undergone much.

"Milo!" Kida choked.

The weak man's eyelids fluttered slightly. "K-k-Kida?" His voice shook as he spoke. "Wha-what are you doing here?"

"Let him go, Throck!" Kida cried. "He never did anything to you! He's innocent! Your quarrel is with me. Now let him go!"

"As you say, 'Your Highness.' Gentlemen?" Throck said smoothly. On his word, the guards released their grip on Milo. With no support, he dropped down to his knees weakly.

"No!" Kida moaned. Tears reignited in her eyes. _What have I done?!_ She rose and tried to hurry to her husband's side. Guards restrained her. Orion gnawed his lip and avoided looking at the scene. "Let me go to him!" Kida shouted angrily.

"All in good time, my dear, all in good time. First we must talk business," Throck said in a sugary sweet tone. "Mustn't let our emotions get the better of us, right?"

"I'm not discussing anything with you until you let me go!" Kida shouted. Throck nodded and snapped his fingers. The guards released their hold on the Atlantean queen, and she rushed to Milo's side. He was sprawled out on the floor, scarcely breathing. Kida knelt beside him, and rolled him into her lap. She lovingly stroked his forehead.

"Kida?" he whispered, barely audible. "Why did you come?" She placed a finger on his lips, silencing him. He smiled slightly, and pulled her hand onto his cheek. "Let me look at you," he whispered. "Oh, Kida, Kida, I love you so much."

"I love you, too, sweetheart," she murmured. She lovingly brushed the stray bangs out of his face, and a small laugh escaped, though her eyes were filled with tears. "Your glasses are dirty." She pulled them off his face.

"No, Kida, I can't see you!" Milo weakly protested.

"I know, love, just one moment," she continued softly, rubbing off the blood, sweat, dirt and grime that was smearing his glasses with her shawl. She then replaced them on his face.

"Oh! I can see you clearly now. Oh, Kida, you're more beautiful that I remembered," Milo mumbled. He could feel tears welling up in his eyes, but he couldn't allow himself to cry in front of his wife. Not this time; he couldn't bear to make her feel the pain he was experiencing.

Kida leaned closer to him, her hand still on his face. "We'll get through this, Milo, you'll see." She kissed him softly on the lips. Milo savored the moment, knowing perfectly well it could be his last. Then he began to cough uncontrollably. Blood sprang to his lips, staining them ruby red. Kida's eyes widened in surprise and fear. "Milo!" she cried. She turned to Throck. "What have you done to him?" she demanded. Throck merely smirked in reply.

"Kida?" Milo murmured. She turned her attention back to her beloved. "Kida, I can't see you." He was trembling in her arms. His forehead was hot, feverish. "It's so dark. I can't find you, Kida, where'd you go?"

Kida turned again to Throck. "He's dying! You're killing him, Throck!"

"Perfect," was the reply. He motioned to his men, and they once again pulled her away from Milo and restrained her. "Now, let's discuss the matter at hand. It's perfectly obvious that your husband over there is not long for this world."

"I'd give him ten, fifteen minutes tops," interjected a guard.

"That leaves you with a decision to make," Throck continued. "You can stay in the dungeon and die along with Milo...or, you could do the smart thing. That is, marry me."

"Never!" Kida cried defiantly.

"Oh, hold on, let me finish! This bargain is not without its perks. Think of it: Trokia and Atlantis would merge, and we would rule over the world's largest and most powerful empire supremely! We could combine Atlantis' Mother Crystal and Trokia's Dark Stone, and use them to rule the galaxy!" He paused. "Well, what do you say?" The guards once again let her loose to make her decision. Without hesitation she ran straight past Throck to Milo's side.

"Kida, what are you doing? Go with Throck! It's too late for me. I want you to live," Milo gasped.

A tear slid down her cheek and landed in a puddle on Milo's. "Milo, I won't leave you! I just can't. Either we live together or we don't."

"I see. Well, it appears you have made your decision. Now you must suffer the consequences," Throck said sternly. He and his men marched out–but Orion remained behind. He was carefully watching the two lovers embrace. They were so peaceful together. Even in Thatch's dying moments, their love never even weakened. Incredible!

"Coming, Orion?!" Throck bellowed.

"Throck, I don't think–"

"I know you don't think! I have to do that for you! Now get yourself out here NOW!"

Orion reluctantly obeyed, glancing at Milo and Kida out of the corner of his eye...

* * *

"They're gone now, Milo. Now it's only us," Kida whispered. There was no answer. "Milo? Milo?!" The king's eyes were closed, his heartbeat slow, and his breathing practically nonexistent. "Yädlugōnik! No! Milo, no, don't die, Milo, not yet!" Frantically Kida reached into her sash and pulled out her healing crystal pendant, thanking the gods that she had managed to conceal it there without the guards noticing.

She brought the glowing gem to her lips, then ran it over his wounded body. Soon, Milo was glowing as if the crystal's energy were in him. Kida closed her eyes in prayer. "Please, please do not take him! Spare my husband's life, Spirits of Atlantis, please, I beg of you!" she whispered. As if in response to her prayers, the glowing presence released Milo's limp form. A few seconds later, he groaned slightly.

"Milo! Milo, you're alive!" Kida cried. She threw her arms around him. Startled, Milo's eyes snapped open, then he relaxed and returned her embrace. They held each other for several moments, gratified to simply be alive and together.

Kida broke the silence first. "How do you feel?" she inquired.

"Great, considering what I've been through," he chuckled. Kida felt warm inside at her husband's joviality. "How did you manage to sneak that crystal past Throck and his men?"

"I have my ways," Kida smiled, returning the orb to its hiding spot.

"I love you," Milo said. "You're the smartest, kindest, prettiest, bravest, most wonderful person in the whole universe." Kida rested her head against his chest. Milo smiled, then frowned. "You're also crazy! Kida, why did you risk your life for me?"

"Because you're my only reason for living, that's why."

"That is no excuse! Kida, we're safe for now, but did you ever consider the fact that now we're both doomed?" Milo scolded.

"Oh, no we're not. We'll get out of this, you'll see," she said unconcernedly.

"Kida, stop being so nonchalant! You're the queen of Atlantis, you're supposed to protect your citizens, not risk everyone's lives just for me! Don't you realize what Throck's up to? You're– you're not even listening to me are you?" Sure enough, Kida was sound asleep, curled up in Milo's arms with her head against his heart, snoring gently. "Oh, why even bother?" Milo sighed. "Sleep tight, sweetheart."


	11. Chapter Ten

**The Dark Ones  
Chapter 10**

Kida smiled into the mirror and gently pushed away a stray hair. Butterflies leapt around in her stomach. _I can_'_t believe the day is actually here,_ she thought. She then smoothed her hair out for the eleven thousandth time that morning.

"Kida, will you relax?" Meera giggled. "Everything will be fine."

"I know it will," Kida sighed. "Oh, Meera, can you believe it? I'm actually getting married today! I thought this day would never come."

"I'm so happy for you Kida. You and Milo truly deserve happiness," Meera said. She chewed her lip thoughtfully. "The ceremony is going to be gorgeous," she continued. "It's written to be the most beautiful marriage ceremony on earth."

Kida thought about all this. She had never seen this ceremony. The last time it had been performed was at the wedding of Kashekim Nedakh and Maralana Yena– Kida's parents. Not long after their wedding, the ability to read the ancient scrolls upon which the ceremony was written had been lost to the Atlanteans...for six thousand years.

Meera's voice brought Kida back to reality. "You know, what makes the ceremony so pretty is the couple's love for each other. If they were not in love, it could never take place."

This made Kida smile again. She hoped that it was just as beautiful as her parents' wedding. Of course, things would be a little different. For instance, Atlantean custom said only the bride, the groom, and the scribe who performed the ceremony should be present. However, Milo had insisted on the surface world tradition of a bridal party. Oton would be Milo's best man, Meera would be Kida's maid of honor, Nakia and Lina would be bridesmaids, and little Alêa would be the flower girl. No other guests were invited.

"Come on, Kida! Time to go!" Nakia called, sticking her head in the bedroom door.

"Oh, Nakia, will you relax?" Kida said. "It's not like they can start without me!" Pausing to take one final look in the mirror, Kida hurried out the door.

Meanwhile, Milo was in the throne room, very nervously waiting for his bride to be. He paced back and forth, his stomach in his throat. Oton watched him, filled with mirth.

"I felt the same way, Milo, the day I married Lina. Don't worry, everything is going to be fine!" Oton chuckled.

"I know, I know, but I'm entitled to some nervousness, aren't I?" Milo sighed.

"You're going to have thousands of years of happiness together," Oton continued.

"Thousands of years..." Milo whispered. "Only a few years ago I would have laughed at you saying that. But I know that's only too true. I just can't imagine it. To me that's such an incredibly long time. What if... what if things... change? What if she doesn't love me anymore after a few thousand years?"

Oton frowned. "Milo, I know Kida pretty well. And you know her even better. You two have something special. Something that most people can only dream of."

"Really?" Milo asked.

"Tell me Milo, how do you feel about the Queen?"

"I love her more than my very life. I would do anything for her, absolutely anything," Milo said.

"I guarantee you, she feels the exact same way–and will for all eternity. You know it, she knows it, and all of Atlantis knows it," Oton said. Relief swept over Milo, and the butterflies flew away. Suddenly Milo felt ready to conquer the earth.

The door to the throne room opened.

* * *

The two knelt on a crystal platform nervously, facing each other, clasping one another's hands. A blue beam fell mysteriously from the sky, illuminating the couple. The scribe's voice pierced the mystic silence.

"O Spirits of Atlantis, mighty Mother Crystal, we so humbly ask You now to cast Your gaze on these Atlantean mortals and their pledges of love to one another. If You deem their vows worthy, then they will be joined into an unbreakable union of love for all eternity." There was a rumbling sound, like thunder. Kida's hands tensed, and Milo soothingly massaged them. The scribe spoke again. "Now, mortals, you must make your vows."

Milo went first. "Kida," he pushed a stray wisp of hair from her face, then clasped her hands again, gazing into her eyes and smiling, "My love for you is undying. As every day passes, I will love you more. I will love you in good times and bad, in health and in sickness, until death takes my last breath from me."

Kida lit up and made her vows. "Milo, from the day I first laid my eyes on you, I knew we were destined for each other. My love for you grows every moment. We will spend all eternity in each other's arms, enjoy our old age in each other's company," she smiled and repeated Milo's surface-world pledge, "In good times and in bad, in health and in sickness, until death claims us both."

"O mighty Heart of Atlantis, we now place the fate of these two with You," the scribe said when Kida had finished. The sky became dark and the blue beam surrounding the two grew even more vivid. A gentle, mysterious wind tousled their hair. The crystal pendants at their throats glowed and rose, drawn to each other like magnets. When they touched, the pendants grew brighter and brighter until they beamed white. The pendants began to revolve around each other, faster with each turn. Suddenly, the two crystals bonded with one another, forming one jewel. Just as quickly, a flash of blue lightning shot down from the Crystal and enveloped Milo and Kida, causing them to disappear into the light.

Then the light dimmed and faded away. The shimmering jewel once again became two crystal pendants and dropped back onto their owners' necks. Kida and Milo stared at each other, wide-eyed, awestruck.

"It is done. The Crystal has deemed you worthy. You now have an unbreakable bond, an eternal union. You entered as two; you shall depart as one," the scribe said, enthralled.

Milo pulled Kida into his arms and kissed her.

"Surface-world custom," Lina explained to her confused little daughter. Meera was sobbing blissful tears. Nakia grinned as she watched her friends embrace. For them, it was a new beginning...

* * *

Kida awoke to feel someone's arms around her. She opened her eyes and found that she was still captured in Milo's warm embrace, and that they were still trapped in Throck's cold dungeon.

"How long did I sleep?" she yawned.

"A few hours," Milo shrugged. "You needed it, though."

She smiled softly. "I dreamed about our wedding, Milo."

Milo grinned, tightening his arms about her. "Did you now?"

"Umm-hmm." She gave him a small kiss. He grinned wider, then said suddenly, "Kida, I've had some time to eavesdrop on our captors, and I learned some of their plans."

Kida became instantly serious. "What did you find out?" she asked, almost afraid to hear what he might say.

"He wants Atlantis still. And he wants you to be his queen."

"Yes, I've heard that," Kida interrupted, frowning. "Milo, you know I would never would betray my city, my people–or you."

"Yeah, I do know." Milo smiled and continued, "They have weapons and vehicles, like Atlantis, but different. Darker. Evil. I heard Orion say that they have some sort of power source–"

Kida gasped, suddenly remembering. "Milo! Their crystal– it's Rourke."

Milo's jaw dropped. "Rourke?! You mean–oh, no!" He took a deep breath as the weight of her words sank in. "Kida– they're planning to attack Atlantis at morning's first light. And they supposedly have a secret weapon, one even more powerful than the Stone Giants. If they catch Atlantis off guard..."

"...Then we're doomed!" Kida finished for him. "We have to warn them!" she said decisively.

"But how?" Milo inquired. "We're stuck here in this dungeon."

"I'm going to use the Crystal to send mind-pictures to Meera," Kida said.

"Will that work?" Milo asked, intrigued.

"I most certainly hope so," Kida replied. She brought her crystal pendant to her lips, then closed her eyes and placed it on her forehead. The jewel glowed supernaturally as it began to relay her message. Milo could only watch, awestruck, and pray that it reached Atlantis in time.

* * *

Back in Atlantis, "Queen" Meeranakash was doing quite a bit of worrying herself. She knew that she simply was not qualified to be a ruler, and with each passing hour, it was becoming more and more evident that this might become a permanent position.

Nakia wandered into the throne room to see a mob of citizens shouting demands at Meera, who was sitting on Kida's throne with a petrified look on her face. Nakia grimaced.

"That is enough!" she shouted forcefully. "Would you behave like this if Queen Kidagakash were here? The kings of our past would be ashamed to call you family if they could see the way you are acting now, like a group of animals!" The Atlanteans looked down at their feet and slowly headed out of the throne room.

"Oh, thank you, Nakia," Meera sighed. "I didn't know what to do. I don't think I can handle being queen for one more minute."

"Any word from Kida yet?" Nakia asked hopefully.

"No," Meera replied. "Nakia, I'm getting really worried. If Kida doesn't get back soon..."

High over their heads, the shimmering blue Heart of Atlantis suddenly turned fiery red. The disturbance brought a silence over the city. Vibrant scarlet search lights shot down from the sky. One fell on Meera and turned back to a cool aquamarine. Her own crystal pendant rose up, drawn to the Mother Crystal like a magnet. Meera's eyes glazed over and began glowing supernaturally. Nakia stared at her friend, filled with fear. "Meera!" she gasped.

"Kwahm tëredsenen, Nakia-toap," Meera said in an unnatural voice, warning her not to be afraid. She stepped directly into the center of the beams, and they revolved around her, seeming to absorb her. In the blue light, Meera could hear the voices of all those who came before her, whispers from the past. Amidst the chaos, one voice called to Meera. "Meera! It's Kida!"

"Kida?" Meera gasped, taking a step back. The world beneath her lurched and she nearly lost her balance. As if by magic, the Crystal steadied her and held her upright. Suddenly Meera felt as if she were no longer standing on the earth, but as if she were hovering amidst the clouds. Still, she could see nothing but blue light.

Then Kida appeared in the midst of it all. "Meera, I am well, as is Milo, but danger is approaching Atlantis. Behold." The blue light dimmed as images of another place, one Meera had never seen, filled her eyes. Images of evil, of a black city filled with suffering souls and screams of terror and pain. "Throck is alive and he is thriving. He lives in a city called Trokia." The image switched from scenes of city streets to a malformed, black, red, and blue lump that looked inexplicably familiar to Meera. "He has a mighty power source, an evil counterpart of the Heart of Atlantis."

Meera peered more closely at the lump. Her eyes filled with recognition. "Rourke!" she gasped. Kida continued, as if she could not hear what Meera was saying. "They intend to attack Atlantis at morning's first light, and they have an army to rival the Atlantean Armada. You must ready the city for battle. Milo and I will join you as soon as we can...if we can. Good luck, my dearest friend. Atlantis is depending on you."

Kida began fading into the light. "Wait!" Meera cried, but to no avail. Then she felt her feet touching the ground again, the light dimmed, and then the vision was gone. She was back in the throne room. Nakia rushed to her side, pale as a ghost.

"Meera, what on earth happened?" she demanded.

"I...saw Kida. She said..." Meera took a deep breath and pulled herself together. She called the captain of the guards to her. "Ready the Armada. The city is going to be attacked at morning's first light, and we must be prepared. Gather together our strongest weapons and our mightiest warriors. Have the troops ready for my inspection by a quarter from the mark," she instructed. Suddenly, Meera felt like the queen that only a few moments ago she had thought she never could be. The Trokians would rue the day they ever crossed the kingdom of Atlantis.

* * *

A sentry turned from the viewing globe in Throck's quarters. "Sir, I think you should see this," he said.

Throck gazed into the mystic orb, Orion peering over his shoulder. They could see a vision of the interior of a dungeon cell. Queen Kida was holding a crystal pendant to her forehead and whispering something. Milo Thatch was watching her with wide eyes. "They're warning Atlantis," Orion observed. "Now all of the city will know you're coming."

"No matter," Throck snickered, stepping away from the viewing globe and disappearing into another room. Orion remained, watching the two captured in the mystic bubble. The way Milo looked at Kida reminded him of the way that he had once looked at a woman, a woman even more beautiful than the queen. She was shorter, a bit plumper, with a face that shone like the sun that Orion had not seen since he was a very young man, but remembered so well...

Her name had been Meeranakash. She seemed to float down the street, with grace like a dancer. She always smiled, and brought joy to whomever she met. Orion had been in love with her since adolescence, but had never had the courage to say even supük. Whenever she would greet him, he froze in his tracks. Orion knew he could never have her; she was so high above him. But still, he had always dreamed.

Then, one day Orion met Throck, and his life was changed forever. Throck told Orion that he would get Meera to like him if Orion would help him. Orion willingly agreed, but all it got him was being exiled from his city and separation from the only woman he had ever cared about.

The very thought of it made Orion sick. He looked again at the viewing globe and the two lovers displayed within it. He was tired of being treated badly by a power-hungry madman. And he was furious at himself for allowing the kidnap and murder of innocent lives, the lives of his Queen and King. But worst of all was the fact that tomorrow Atlantis would be destroyed, and Meera would be the first to die.

Orion slammed his fist onto the table. "It's time I stopped letting other people control my life and I started making my own decisions," he said to himself. He knew what he was going to do, and he knew how he was going to do it.

* * *

"Well, I sent the message. I can only hope that Meera received it," Kida sighed.

Milo embraced her. "It's going to be okay, honey," he said.

"I know it will. We'll escape. Somehow," Kida whispered. "I just wish I only knew how."

There was a scratching sound over their heads. Instantly, Kida and Milo were on their feet, in fighting stances, ready to defend at a moment's notice. Then, the scratching stopped. "What was it?" Kida asked, her guard still up.

"Maybe it was a rat," Milo replied, but he was pretty sure it was less of a rodent and more of a rat of the Trokian guard variety.

Suddenly, a panel on the ceiling slid aside and a face appeared in it. Milo jumped in surprise; Kida whirled. "You!" she snarled. It was Orion.  
"Apologies, Täneb-toat. I..." He trailed off, then sharply drew in his breath, steeling himself. "I'm going to help you escape." With that, Orion jumped into the cell, carrying a rope and a bundle of supplies.

"Why should we trust you?" Kida snarled.

Orion set his jaw and looked down. "Because...there was a time when I felt about someone the way Milo feels about you. I want to make up for my mistakes, if it's the last thing I do." He looked up, directly into Kida's eyes. "I know it's too late to save myself, but I can only hope that it is not too late to save you."

Kida furrowed her eyebrows. She knew she shouldn't trust him, but something inside her–could it be the Heart of Atlantis? –told her that he was telling the truth. She extended her hand to her new ally. "Lead the way, friend Orion."


	12. Chapter Eleven

**The Dark Ones  
Chapter 11**

"This way, Täneb-toat. Quickly," Orion whispered as he led Milo and Kida through the dim secret passage. "Your ketak is just at the end of this corridor." Sure enough, when they reached the end of the hallway, he pushed a panel aside and they once again found themselves standing in the cave adjacent to Trokia.

"Hurry back to Atlantis and help save your people. Help save Meera," Orion added quietly, but the Queen heard, and it piqued her curiosity. Orion knew Meera? But there was no time for that now. The important thing was saving Atlantis.

"But what about you?" Milo was asking.

"I must stay and keep Throck occupied. Perhaps he will not discover that you are missing until you are safe at home again," Orion said. "I wish you well."

Kida pressed his hand into hers. "Atlantis will honor your name forever," she said. "May the Spirits of Atlantis watch over you in all your days."

"As short as they may be," Orion grinned wryly. "Now go! Kiiyish!" So with a final backwards glance, Milo and Kida climbed into the tiny ketak and sped away.

* * *

Back in Atlantis, the Atlantean Armada was readying itself for battle. Warriors sharpened their spears and powered up their fish-like vehicles. News of the upcoming attack had spread through the city like wildfire, and every Atlantean citizen was doing his or her part to help defend their home against this unknown enemy.

"Just what sort of weapons do you suppose these Trokians have?" the captain of Atlantean defense asked of Meera.

"I don't know, but the images I saw and the urgency of Kida's message lead me to believe that we should most definitely be prepared for the most difficult battle we have fought since the defeat of Commander Rourke and his troopers," Meera said. In the back of her mind, she thought to herself how ironic it seemed– the Atlantean warriors were, in a way, fighting Rourke all over again; only now, he was many times as dangerous and deadly.

"Don't worry, Your Highness. The Atlantean Armada will be ready. Victory shall be ours again," the captain reassured.

"I hope so. May the Kings of Our Past watch over and protect you," Queen Meera said, and with that the captain rushed off to prep his warriors.

"How goes the defense, Meera?' Nakia asked, approaching her friend.  
"I think we'll be fine. I only wish that we knew what we were dealing with here. And I wish that Kida would return soon," Meera sighed. Nakia put her hand on Meera's shoulder.

Just then, a loud horn sounded, echoing all over the city. The people fell silent. Then, a voice came over the public loudspeaker. "Attention! Ketak vehicle approaching the city!" Meera and Nakia raced to the lookout tower. Meera peered through a large telescope.

"What do you see?" Nakia asked anxiously.

"It's hard to tell. Looks like two people," Meera said. The vehicle came closer and closer. "I think...I think it's Kida and Milo!"

"What?" Nakia gasped.

"It is! Quick, let's greet them!" Meera exclaimed. They raced down to the landing dock, where the ketak was just settling to the ground. When the Queen and her husband emerged from the ketak, the city began to cheer. Meera and Nakia embraced Kida. Oton, Lina, and little Alêa came rushing up. Alêa leapt into Kida's arms.

"Oh, my little darling, I am glad to see you too," Kida said to the tiny girl.

"Kida, how on earth did you escape?" Nakia asked.

"It's a long story," Kida said. "Can I speak to you all in the throne room?"

* * *

After Kida had briefed her good friends and the leaders of the Armada on what exactly was going on in Trokia, they sat in a stunned silence.

"I cannot believe that this all got past my scouts," the captain of defense groaned.

"It is not your fault. It is no one's fault, save Throck's," Kida said sadly. She could have never believed all this would happen. She had always known that Throck was trouble, but never in her wildest dreams had she thought him this sinister, this evil. She had thought he had been motivated by jealousy towards Milo, but now she could see that all along, all Throck had ever wanted was power.

"That still doesn't explain how you managed to escape," Oton said.

"It was Orion. He betrayed Throck and set us free," Milo said.

Meera let out a small gasp. "Orion?" she whispered in disbelief. "He is...still alive? And well?" she asked timidly.  
"Well, he was when we left, but when Throck finds out we're gone, it probably won't be long before..." Milo cut off; Meera had sunk to her knees and was beginning to sob.

"Meera!" Kida gasped. "What is wrong?"

Lina looked at her sister, then back at Kida. "Oh, she's had a crush on Orion for, like, three thousand years! I thought she'd forgotten that long ago, though," she said.

"I knew it!" Meera sobbed. "I knew that he never truly wanted to betray Atlantis. He was just led astray. Deep in his heart, he is a good man. He's kind and gentle."

Kida knelt beside her friend. "Meera...I never knew," she said softly.

"She was embarrassed," Lina interjected. "He wouldn't give her the time of day. Every time she'd talk to him, he'd just stare at her and walk away. I told her all along she was too good for him."

"No, Lina, you're wrong!" Meera cried. "He was just shy. There was a different side to him! I saw it. It was there, in his eyes, if you'd only look. He sacrificed himself for Kida and Milo, for Atlantis," she sobbed.

"Maybe you were wrong about him, Lina," Kida said. "He said something... odd, right before we left Trokia. He said, 'Save Meera.' Remember, Milo?" Milo nodded.

Meera wiped her eyes and stared at Kida. It couldn't be...could it?

* * *

"YOU FOOLS!!!" Throck roared. "You let them escape? I can't believe you let them escape!" The guards before him trembled in fear. One spoke up in a shaky voice.

"But, Your Excellency, I assure you, we never left our post! No one came in the vicinity. That door never opened, and no one went in or out," he said imploringly.

Throck's eyebrow rose slightly. "Orion, do you know anything about this?" he demanded.

"No, Your Excellency. I know nothing," Orion said evenly.

"Hmm... no, I suppose not. You are far too stupid to ever even consider treason of this kind, anyway," Throck said, turning away. Orion let out a silent sigh of relief.

"No matter. What possible threat could they pose to me, anyway?" Throck continued. "The attack will go on as scheduled. Prepare the warriors!" he bellowed. "Orion, prepare my vehicle. It will not be long before my revenge will be complete. I will have Atlantis. And then, the world will be mine!" he cackled sinisterly.

* * *

"Oh, come now, Meera," Nakia said comfortingly. "Orion will be all right, I'm sure of it!"

"Oh, I hope so, I hope so," Meera cried. In the distance, there was a rumble like thunder, causing them all to fall silent. Over their heads, the calm Mother Crystal turned crimson once again.

Kida's eyes widened. She sensed something, very strong. "He's coming," she whispered.

Suddenly, a deafening explosion shook the city. The shock wave tumbled them all to the floor. Sirens began sounding all over the city. The voice over the loudspeaker shouted, "Warriors, to your positions! Outsiders are approaching the city fast!!!"

"He's here!" Kida shouted. "Battle stations!!!"

The Atlantean fleet hurried into their vehicles and prepared themselves for battle. Inserting their glowing crystal pendants into the slots in their vehicles, pressing their hands on the inscription pad, and turning the crystals a quarter turn back, the Armada rose swiftly into the air.

The captain of defense took his place at the head of the fleet. "Atlanteans, prepare for battle!" he shouted. He watched as the approaching army came closer and closer, traveling at lightening speed. He said a silent prayer, then shouted, "NOW!" Then, the mighty Atlantean vehicles raced into the fray.

"ATTACK!" Throck shouted. Red lasers spewed from the Trokian fighter vehicles, exploding on contact with massive fury.

"What sort of weapon is this?" an Atlantean warrior shouted, activating his own lightning weapons. Compared to the Trokian devices, the Atlantean rays were a pebble in someone's sandal.

As yet another martak exploded, the Atlantean leader changed tactics. "Quickly, get them into those caves!" he called. The Trokian vehicles were fast and powerful, but they were much larger and more difficult to maneuver than the Atlanteans'. Perhaps if they fought in a smaller, more confined space, the Atlanteans would have a fighting chance.

"Perfect," Throck said to himself. "They'll leave the city unprotected. That's where the secret weapon comes in." The aerial attack was merely a decoy. Throck intended to take the city on the ground!

"Bring the cannon forward!" Throck ordered. A group of slaves emerged from the darkness, pulling behind them a huge, strange-looking weapon. It was an energy cannon, built with such force that it could level Atlantis with one blow. Such a weapon required a great power source– but Throck had that. The crystallized Rourke had proved to be quite useful in more ways than one. In a matter of minutes, Atlantis would be Throck's to command.


	13. Chapter Twelve

**The Dark Ones  
Chapter 12**

Kida stood atop a parapet, watching in horror the battle taking place before her. She closed her eyes as one more Atlantean vehicle went down, it and its pilot exploding in a crash of fury. How much more could they take? Suddenly, something on the ground caught her eye. As she watched, Throck emerged from the darkness of the surrounding caverns. Just behind Throck was a forlorn looking Orion, and behind him was an army of massive proportions, armed with spears and guns. Finally, a huge weapon like Kida had never seen was pulled into the open. It was fashioned of what appeared to be bits and pieces from Rourke's artillery, all those years ago. Contained in its center shimmered the mutated remains of the defeated commander himself.

"Milo!" Kida shouted. "Quick! Alert the guards! Throck has more warriors, and they're about to infiltrate the city! We need every available Atlantean to form a defense." Milo sprang into action, shouting orders left and right. Kida grasped her trusted spear and readied herself for battle.

* * *

"Your armor, Excellency," a slave said, presenting Throck with the armor he'd had fashioned for this occasion. He had seen Kida raising the alarm from above the city, and he knew that the Queen would not let the city go without a fight. As to how she had escaped from his dungeon was still a mystery to him, but no matter. She would not escape this time. And this time, he would show her no mercy. Kida may be lovely; but like a rose, she had thorns, and her thorns were too sharp for Throck's taste. He would see her destroyed personally.

He secured the strap on his armor. This would provide him with an impenetrable shield, and with power beyond his wildest dreams. Wearing this Crystal Armor, Throck would be invincible. "Invincibility," he snickered. "I love the way that sounds." He turned to his men. "Troops– ATTACK!!!"

The Trokian warriors ran, shouting their battle cries at the top of their voices, into the city. The Atlanteans met them, and a bloody battle ensued. Throck glanced around, searching for Queen Kidagakash. Instead, he saw Milo Thatch. "Close enough," he growled.

Orion followed slowly, gazing in horror as his fellow Trokians laid waste to his former home. A few feet in front of him, he saw a Trokian jump a woman warrior, who grasped his head and flipped him over her shoulder into a canal. She slowly rose, then faced Orion– and froze.

"Meera!" Orion gasped, staring her right in the face. Emotions centuries old overwhelmed him.

"Orion," she said softly, gazing back at him. Both stood riveted in their tracks, shocked, unmoving. Then the shriek of a little girl sliced through the air, breaking their trance.

"MÄTIM!" Alêa screamed. A Trokian warrior was hot on her heels, spear drawn.

"Alêa! Take my hand!" Lina shouted, grabbing her daughter's tiny wrist and gathering her up into her arms.

"My niece!" Meera cried. Orion looked at Meera, then at Alêa and Lina, and finally at the attacking warrior.

"Hey, why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Orion shouted. The warrior turned to face him, and Orion punched him straight in the jaw. The warrior collapsed, and Orion delivered another blow to his head, knocking him unconscious. Meera and Lina stared at Orion in amazement. Alêa clapped her hands and cheered. "Get out of here," Orion said. "Find a safe place to hide and don't come out, no matter what happens."

"But, Orion, what about you?" Meera asked.

"Just do it!" he snapped. Lina took Meera's hand and quickly led her away. Orion watched as the love of his life disappeared into safety, then turned his attention back to the battle.

* * *

"Well, Mr. Thatch, we meet again," Throck sneered. "But this time, you're not going to live to tell the tale. This time, I've got my secret weapon with me, and it will take more than a quick show of wit to escape your fate."

"Throck, your quarrel is with me!" Kida shouted, approaching her opponent warily.

"Excellent. Now I can kill two birds with one stone–or two Atlanteans with one shot, as the case may be," Throck cackled.

"You will never succeed," Kida snapped.

"I already have," Throck leered. Kida thrusted at him with her spear, but Throck was ready. He wrenched the spear out of the Queen's grasp and snapped the spear in half in one quick movement. "Checkmate," Throck snarled. He extended his palm, and instantly a red lightning bolt shot from it, enveloping the queen. She was lifted up off her feet and hurled into Milo. They crashed into the ground.

"Where did he get such powers?" Kida asked, knowing she would receive no answer. Before either could move, she and Milo were lifted onto their feet and held in place by an invisible forcefield.

"You've reached the end of the line, Kidagakash," Throck said. "Bring it in," he shouted. The huge cannon was wheeled into the Atlantean courtyard. "We are about to witness the destruction of the empire," Throck continued. "But I'm smart enough to know that I can't let you live long enough to stop me. So, Kidagakash Nedakh Thatch, and Milo James Thatch, I bid you goodbye."

He extended his arm, and a ball of red lightening began to form in his hand. Milo, struggling against the forcefield, took Kida's hand in his. "We'll always have each other," he whispered.

"I know," Kida said. "So I am not afraid." They braced themselves, ready for death to come on its swift wings.

"NO!" Orion shouted. Taking a deep breath, he jumped in the path of the bolt, absorbing the shock into his own body, and knocking Throck over.

"Niipuk!" Throck shouted, shoving Orion's limp form off of him. "What do you think you're doing?! You could have had it all. But now you will be destroyed with them!" He reached into his sash to grab the device that controlled the weapon, but instead found nothing. "What?"

Orion, barely conscious, struggled to grasp the controller that lay a few feet away from him. "Good-bye, Throck," he said. "Thanks for nothing." Then he hurled the device with all his might; it scuttled of the ledge and tumbled into the lava far below.

The cannon began making a whirring sound as it began to malfunction, growing brighter and louder every instant. Throck's eyes widened in terror and he ran for cover. "Get away from it!" Milo shouted. He and Kida ran for the shelter that Lina, Meera, and Alêa had entered a few minutes before.

"What's going on?" Lina asked.

"When Orion destroyed the control unit, it enacted a self-destruct mechanism, I believe," Milo said.

"What? Well, where is he?" Meera gasped.

"Still out there, I think," Kida said. Meera's eyes widened and she raced out of the building.

"Meera, come back!" Lina screamed, but Meera wouldn't listen. She made her way across the violently shaking earth toward Orion's limp form. He lay a few feet from the glowing cannon, about to explode at any second.

"Meera, wha-what are you doing?" Orion choked. "I told you not to come out no matter what."

"I won't leave you, Orion. I won't let you die," she said, her voice breaking.

"Meera, don't be stupid," he gasped weakly. "I'll die anyway. This way we'll both be killed!"

"All or nothing," Meera said firmly, and helping him to his feet, started pulling him across the courtyard out of harm's way. They had almost reached the shelter when the cannon exploded in a blaze of fury. The ground rumbled, and the two fell to the ground. Quickly, Meera shielded Orion's broken body with herself, protecting him from the flaming shrapnel that was cascading about them.

"Aunt Meera!" Alêa screamed. Then the smoke enveloped the dim forms, and there was silence.


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**The Dark Ones  
Chapter 13**

In the caverns, the war raged. Fortunately for the Atlantean Armada, their tactic was working. The clumsy Trokian vehicles couldn't maneuver properly in the cramped spaces, and there was constantly the roar of thunder as Trokian after Trokian crashed and burned on the cavern walls. After what seemed eternity, the last Trokian scream was heard and the last vehicle was destroyed. Atlantis had been victorious. Though the casualties were numerous, Atlantis was safe...or so it seemed.

"Victory!" the captain of defense shouted. The Atlantean fleet erupted into cheers. But then the deafening sound of an explosion interrupted their celebration. The captain's eyes grew huge. "The city!"

* * *

Throck emerged from his shadowy shelter. How could it be? All his hard work down the drain. Years of planning, destroyed! And all because of that spineless Orion. The only consolation to Throck was that the back-stabber had surely been killed in the blast. But, still! Now there was no hope, for the Dark Crystal must have been destroyed, too.

"_Don't worry, Throck. It_'_s not over yet,_" a voice whispered in Throck's head. That voice...where had he heard it before? A brief wisp of a memory raced through his mind, a memory of a man who had been just as power-hungry as Throck himself was. A man who hated Milo and Kida as much as Throck did. A man whose voice had not been heard in over ten years.

"_Come to me, Throck. Join me and victory, revenge, power– it will all be ours._"

Throck walked through the clearing smoke in the direction where the cannon had been positioned– that's where the voice seemed to be coming from. Then he saw it– hovering in the haze was the Dark Crystal, the Trokian power source. It had not been destroyed after all! Somehow, it had protected itself from the explosion, the way that the Heart of Atlantis always managed to safe itself from certain annihilation.

But not this time. If Rourke and Throck were to merge, there would be no possible way for the Heart of Atlantis to win...

"_Come to me, Throck..._"

Throck approached the glowing form. As he drew closer, it seemed to glow even more. Before his eyes, it transformed from being a harsh, solid figure, to being more liquid in nature. It expanded, losing its shape, and seemed to open up to him, like a porthole. "_Step inside, Throck, and all shall be ours. Join with me._" Grinning evilly, Throck passed through the porthole. The liquid crystal swirled around him, contouring to him, entering inside him. Then, in a flash of light, Throck bonded completely with the Dark Crystal. When it was done, the Dark Crystal no longer resembled Rourke in shape– Throck had become the Dark Crystal. And now, he truly was unstoppable.

* * *

As the smoke cleared, Milo turned to Kida. "What do you think happened to them?" he asked.

"I don't know," Kida said. "But I sense that this battle's not over yet." As if in response, vivid scarlet searchlights shot down from the Mother Crystal, hundreds of feet above their heads. The light fell on Kida, and her pendant rose to it, tugging her forward urgently. She stepped forward, but Milo grabbed her shoulder, holding her back.

"Milo, I must go!" Kida cried.

"But, Kida, what if... what if this time the Crystal doesn't let you come back?" Milo asked the question that he had dreaded ever since that first day in the Crystal Chamber.

"It's a risk I must take," Kida said. "Milo, even if I never return, you realize that I will never leave you. I love you." He kissed her, gently at first, but held her tightly and kissed her harder as he realized this might be the last time. Then she broke out of his arms. "I must go," she said, stepping into the light.

It was like deja vu. The light engulfed her, and she closed her eyes, losing consciousness. She floated into the air, disappearing into the glowing Crystal's center. The king stones spun about her, faster and faster, until she had bonded totally with the Heart of Atlantis. Then she slowly descended, hovering a few inches from the ground.

"What's going on?" Alêa asked confusedly.

"Something's about to happen," Milo said. A gust of wind came out of nowhere, dispersing all the smoke left over from the destruction of Throck's cannon. They could see now, Meera and Orion laying on the ground limply a few feet away, the crystallized Kida poised in the center of the courtyard...and now that the smoke was gone, they could see a glowing object approaching the Heart of Atlantis. Milo stared, trying to figure out what it was. Then it struck him. If the Heart of Atlantis could bond with human hosts, then was it possible for the Dark Crystal to take a human host as well?

"It's Throck!" Milo asserted.

"What?" Lina gasped. She stared in horror at the scene that lay before her. She knew that this would be the defining moment for Atlantis. Victory or defeat here meant the survival or destruction of the city and all its people, once and for all.

The adversaries faced each other for a moment. Then the crystallized queen extended her arms, and a dome of pure energy formed around her. From the middle of it, a bolt of blue lightening sprang, slamming into Throck, who quickly blocked it and administered one of his own. Kida dodged it quickly and changed tactics. Brightening until she was practically blinding to look at, she soared into the air and rammed into Throck. He crashed onto the ground, but in an instant he was up again. He, too, rose up into the air. Then he extended his arms, and a ring of light began whirling about him. The ring grew wider and wider, engulfing everything around it. The Heart of Atlantis formed an energy shield about itself, but it was no use. The light pulled the Crystal into its grasp, and in a final burst of light, the Dark Crystal swallowed the Heart of Atlantis whole.

"No!" Milo shouted. He couldn't believe it. The Crystal had been defeated and destroyed, his wife had been murdered, the fate of the entire empire and all its people had been sealed– right before his very eyes.

The light faded away, revealing a gigantic, even more powerful Dark Crystal. Its size rivaled that of the Stone Giants'. The towering Throck figure began cackling maniacally, a horrifying, surreal sound, a sign of his victory. His revenge was complete, and now he was not only a King– he was a god!

Throck barely even noticed the rumbling sound coming from inside of him. Then, blue stylized light patterns began cracking through his red and black surface. Throck stared down at himself in terror. He screamed a loud, surreal sound that echoed of the walls of the cave the city was housed in. Then, as his scream reached a crescendo, he exploded into a million fragmented pieces that disintegrated in the air. Throck–and Rourke–had finally been destroyed, totally and completely, once and for all. A blinding flash of light filled the sky, causing every person in Atlantis to close their eyes.

When the light finally faded away, there was no trace of Throck or his Dark Crystal. They were simply a memory of the past.

The steam surrounding the city cleared, and Milo could make out the limp figure of his wife laying crumpled on the ground in the center of the courtyard. He hurried over to her. Gently, he lifted her immobile form into his arms, placing her head in his lap. Her fist was tightly clenched. He opened her hand and saw that her mother's bracelet and the ring he gave her for their wedding– both of which Throck had taken from her upon her capture– had been returned to her once again by the benevolent Heart of Atlantis.

Her eyes fluttered open. "Milo," she whispered. "I made it back."

"I know," he responded, and held her tightly. She was back, she was safe, Atlantis was safe– that was all that mattered.

A few feet away, they heard a muffled sob. Alêa was kneeling next to the limp forms of her Aunt Meera and Orion. Lina, standing a little ways behind her daughter, stared at the crumpled bodies in shock. Nakia and Oton came running into the courtyard. Nakia froze in her tracks. Oton gasped, and rushed over to them, gathering his wife and daughter into his arms.

"No," Nakia whispered. "They can't be. They just can't..."  
As the onlookers stared grimly at the two broken figures, a blue light fell from the sky. Gently, Orion and Meera were lifted from the ground. There was a flash of light, then, just as gently, the Crystal set them back on the courtyard floor.

"Meera?" Lina said.

Meera's eyelids drifted open. She stared at her friends as they stared back at her. Then she gasped, remembering all that had happened. She quickly turned to Orion. She leaned over him, stroking his forehead. "Orion?" she whispered.

His eyes opened, and he saw Meera gazing at him adoringly. It was a dream, it had to be. "Meera?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied. "Oh, Orion!" She embraced him and the tears began to flow. He sat up and took her into his arms, still staring at her in disbelief. He had dreamed of this day, but he never thought it would actually come.

"Come on, you guys, let's give them a little privacy," Nakia said pointedly.

"It's okay," Orion said, drawing Meera to her feet. "If ten years hasn't faded my memory too much, I think there's a lovely little garden on the other side of that wall. We have some talking to do." Meera nodded, and they strolled out of the courtyard, hand in hand. When Orion thought no one was looking, he turned to face Meera, who was already way ahead of him–pulling him into a tight embrace, she rose up on her toes and kissed him full on the mouth.

Alêa pulled on her mother's sleeve. Lina bent over, and Alêa whispered in her ear, "Is Aunt Meera going to get married like Milo and Kida?" Lina smiled.

"I hope so," she said. She glanced over at the Queen and her husband, who were walking, entwined, back to the palace. "And they'll all live happily ever after."


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**The Dark Ones  
Chapter 14**

Now that Throck was dead and the Dark Crystal had been destroyed forever, Kida found herself faced with a final, difficult decision: What to do with Trokia and the surviving Trokians.

"Kida, I know it's hard for you, but no one can make this decision but you," Milo said.

"I know, Milo," Kida replied, but she was pretty sure that she had already made up her mind. She watched the Atlantean citizens and the remaining Trokian slaves and warriors emerging, one by one, from their hiding places, gazing around at the city; the peaceful blue Living Crystal, shimmering as though nothing had happened; the charred ashes, all that remained of Throck and his "invincible" secret weapon. There they stood, Atlantean and Trokian. If not for the Trokians' black garb, one couldn't tell them apart.

Kida bit her lip and thought hard of Lelai and Nashir, and all that Lelai had told her that day, when Kida had thought all hope of seeing Milo again was lost. She thought about the Trokian slaves and the slave-drivers, all working so hard for fear of what Throck would do to them. She thought of the Trokian women who had longed to make peace with Atlantis and see their old friends again. And she thought of Orion. Kida then realized that there had been very few Trokians who were loyal to Throck because they agreed with him; most were loyal to him only out of fear, and they had only joined with Throck in the first place out of desperation– like Orion. Those who were ever truly loyal to Throck were dead by now, so why punish the innocent for Throck's crimes?

In the distance, Kida heard the Atlantean Armada returning, disrupting her thoughts. As the first aktirak settled on the landing pad, the entire population, Atlantean and Trokian, erupted in applause and cheers. The war was over. Now Kida was positive. She knew what she had to do.

* * *

The Atlantean people assembled in the restored Nedakh Complex. They were about to hear Queen Kidagakash Nedakh Thatch make a very important speech– concerning the final fate of Trokia and all its people.

Kida gazed out over the huge audience. She spotted several familiar faces in the crowd near the podium– Orion and Meera, Nashir and Lelai, Nakia, Lina and Oton, and of course Alêa, perched on her Täbtoap's shoulders. She took a deep breath and began her speech. The crowd fell silent, holding their breaths.

"The past ten years have been filled with a lot of pain, for all of us. Throck was a very formidable enemy, and there was nothing anyone could have stopped him until now. He was a mad-man, and we all underestimated him until it was far too late.

"But this was no one's fault, no one except Throck himself. So I reasoned that it would be a very poor decision on my part if I were to discriminate against the Trokians, because we all in one way or another were misled by Throck. It would also be a mark of a very poor ruler. As Queen, I am prepared to welcome the Trokians back with open arms. If you can prove yourselves constructive members of Atlantean society, then you will once again be considered equal citizens of Atlantis."

The crowd erupted with cheers. Kida grinned, pleased with her decision. She couldn't help but chuckle when Meera gave her a big thumbs up sign and then threw her arms around Orion. Lelai ran right up to Kida and gave her a big hug.

"Is she allowed to do that?" Nashir asked.

"Anytime, Lelai," Kida giggled.

Milo came up and put his arms about his wife. "I'm proud of you, Kida. Once again, you've proven yourself a magnificent ruler." He thought for a second. "What are we going to do about Trokia itself?"

"I have already thought about that," Kida replied. "I shall have the entrance to the city destroyed, and then no one will ever have to worry about that evil place ever again." She smiled. "Things have come full circle once more. Throck will soon be forgotten, and then everything will be the way it was intended to be–peaceful."


	16. Epilogue

**The Dark Ones  
Epilogue  
**_**A Few Months Later**_

Kida emerged from the bathing chamber, pulling her hair back and securing it with some twine. Her husband was sitting on the bed, writing furiously in his journal. She sat next to him, leaning over his shoulder. "What are you doing, dear?"

Milo looked up from his book and straightened his glasses. "I'm writing about what happened with Throck. I think it would be an important thing to put in the history books, to inform the future generations," he said.

"Oh, definitely," Kida agreed. She rubbed his shoulders gently. "That was quite an ordeal."

"Yeah, it sure was. I'm just glad it's over and we never have to worry about Throck ever again," Milo said.

"Yes, and I am especially glad that things are going so well for Meera and Orion," Kida said, smiling happily.

"Yeah, at the rate they're going, it won't be long before Alêa's calling him 'Uncle Orion,'" Milo laughed.

"Yes," Kida said, looking out the window. "Milo, I... have something to tell you. Something very important."

Milo looked at her with concern. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing's wrong, Milo, nothing at all. It's just that...I have some wonderful news for you," she said, blushing.

"What?" Milo asked. Now he was worried.

"Well, it's just that...I just found out that...there's going to be a new addition to our family," she said softly.

"You mean...?"

"Yes."

* * *

A joyous voice shouted over the public loudspeaker, "Wonderful news! Queen Kidagakash Nedakh-Thatch and her husband Milo are expecting a child!" A gasp and a cheer rose from the city. When Milo and Kida emerged from the palace, congratulations rolled in non-stop.  
Alêa raced up to Kida. "I'm going to have a friend to play with!" she exclaimed.

"That you are," Kida said. Lina and Oton, and Meera and Orion hurried up to tell them they had heard the news. Meera gave her best friend a huge hug, and smiled as Orion took her hand.

Nakia watched them all, shaking her head. "It looks like I'm the only loner around here anymore," she said to herself. But no matter. Big things were happening. For Atlantis, it was a whole new beginning...

**The End!**


	17. Revision Notes

**Revision Notes**

I wrote this story in its entirety during my junior year of high school, completing it in February 2002. Almost seven years have passed, and it is still the longest fanfiction I have ever written and completed. Looking back, I was pleasantly surprised at how well it stood the test of time (that is, considering the fact that it was written by a 16 year old, it actually didn't suck). There were a few things I always wanted to revise, however; which is what led to the version you see now!

Most of the changes I made were minor; spelling and grammar things. I did, however, make three major edits. The first of these is regarding the character of Orion. When I originally wrote the story, I didn't decide to make him one of the good guys until halfway through the story, which meant that he was portrayed in earlier chapters as kind of whiny and sniveling. He wound up being my most popular original character, though, as well as my own favorite, and I felt that his behavior in the original version didn't do him justice. Therefore, his scenes have been re-written (and new ones have been added) to portray him in a manner that I feel better fits his character from start to finish.

The biggest edit I made was chapter seven. In retrospect, Milo and Kida's behavior in the original version was grossly out of character, and made me largely dissatisfied with the entire story. I actually rewrote and posted the new version of this chapter in 2005, but never made note of it until now. For people who read the old chapter, I think you will agree that this one makes much more sense, and fits the characters and overall flow of the story better.

The last change I made was to the Atlantean words throughout the story; I made them into actual words. In most official merchandise, Atlantean is broken down into syllables, with the emphasized syllable in all caps. This is clearly done for pronunciation's sake, since the words would be written in the Atlantean alphabet as opposed to with English characters. I felt like it really disrupted the flow of the story, though. If Atlantean were a real language, there would probably be some better form of translation, like romaji for Japanese. So I just made one up. I used symbols from the phonetic alphabet to indicate pronunciation for stuff that was ambiguous so that there wouldn't be as many Hs in the words (for example "ë" and "ä" are "eh" and "ah," and "ō" is "oh").

I also cut out most of the Atlantean words that were in the story because, frankly, I only put them there in the first place as away to show off how much Atlantean I knew, which is just stupid. I only left Atlantean where I felt it was necessary. Here is a list of the Atlantean words I used and their definitions for you:

Mätim | MAH-tihm | Mother

Täbtoap | TAHB-toap | Father

Mëbelmōk | MEH-bel-moak | Great Flood

Täneb-toat | TAH-nehb-toat | Your Highness, etc.

supük | SOO-puhk | hello

niipuk | NEE-pook | fool

kiiyish | KEE-yihsh | quickly

shemubin | lava whale (like Obbi from the sequel)

ketak, aktirak, martak | stone-fish vehicles

wokano | Atlantean standard of measurement

-toap, -toat | honorifics; the first is familiar, the second is formal

Phrases:

mōkit gwënonik | MOH-kiht GWEH-noh-nikh | I'll kill you for that!

Yädlug, Yädlugonik | YAHD-luhg, YAHD-lu-goh-nihk | Oh my god!, etc.

kwahm tëredsenen | kwahm TEH-red-seh-nen | don't be afraid, have no fear (kwahm = no)

I didn't make up any words or phrases, I only used official movie Atlantean. Keran_Shadlag has done an extensive study of the language developed by Okrand for the movie using a number of sources way over my head. If you are interested in the Atlantean language, I hope you will take a look at his work, which you can find at **www . noble-scarlet . net / kfu / viewtopic . php?t=75** and at **www . noble-scarlet . net / kfu / viewtopic . php?t=93 **(remove spaces)

I hope these notes were informative. :-) Thank you all so much for reading "The Dark Ones" and I hope you enjoyed it!


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